Are You Game?
by Tang Ri Shan
Summary: After rescuing Alan from Jumanji, Peter and Judy try to destroy the game, until they learn that the game cannot be destroyed. Worse, Judy and Peter are marked by the "spirit of Jumanji", and are told that they must now keep playing the game, or all of their town will suffer. But the game is even more dangerous than ever, and there are a few new surprises for Shepherds.
1. Chapter 1-Warning

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Prologue**

"Ahh! Home sweet home!" Alan Parish sighed happily, spreading out his hands and twirling happily on the landing. Judy and Peter Shepherd watched from the top of the stairs, smiling, as Alan followed Aunt Nora downstairs.

"So, tell me about your latest role" Aunt Nora said, placing her hand on Alan's shoulder. Alan turned and smiled at her and she smiled back.

"I'm no psychic, but I'm hearing wedding bells" Judy stated

Peter suddenly made a face. "Wait, aww that means I have to wear a tie, right?"

Judy laughed out loud. "After all we've been through, wearing a suit should be the least of your worries, Peabody" She said as they followed Alan down the stairs.

"True" Peter replied, laughing.

**_Later that evening_**

Later that evening, Judy lay in her bed, tossing and turning, muttering softly in her sleep.

In her dream, Judy found herself walking through the thick jungle that was Jumanji. "_Great_" She siad to herself. "_I've been in Jumanji so many times that it's showing up in my dreams. I can't wait to destroy this thing_." The cries of birds echoed through the trees, insects buzzed through the air around her, but never seemed to land on her. Through the trees, she saw familiar sights, a crocodile floating on the banks of a river, a zebra stampeding through the trees, a black panther chasing after an antelope. Judy wanted to wince as she watched the panther catch the antelope, raking its claws down the creature's back, but strangely she didn't. _  
_

BANG! Judy paused as a gunshot echoed through the air, then instinctively darted off the trail, crouching down behind a bush in the shadow of a big tree. If Van Pelt was nearby, she did _not_ want him finding her. He was scary enough in reality. Suddenly, she heard footsteps.

"RUN!" A panicked voice yelled.

"I AM RUNNING!" Another voice, higher pitched, answered. Judy frowned, she didn't recognize those voices. Two figures darted through her line of vision, one of them stumbled and fell. Judy caught a glimpse of long red hair and saw a flash of jewelry and smelled strong perfume as the figure picked herself up and rushed away, screaming, as fast as she could in her high heels. Judy rolled her eyes. Jewelry, perfume, _and_ high heels? That fool wasn't going to last five minutes! She had to help her! Judy slowly stuck her head out from behind her bush, scanning her surroundings for any sign of Van Pelt, but she didn't see the hunter. After a couple seconds, she took off in the direction of the screaming.

A few seconds later, Judy heard two gunshots, followed by a deathly silence. "No!" She exclaimed, rounding a great tree-and skidding to a halt. In a small clearing a girl in a fancy dress and a boy in a tuxedo were both sprawled facedown on the jungle floor, not moving. Van Pelt was standing over them, laughing. _"NO!_ Judy screamed, then clapped her hands over her mouth. Van Pelt looked up and spotted her before she could retreat.

"Ah, young Judy" He said, his grin widening. "I thought you had left Jumanji for good. Pity, you and your little brother were worthy prey, whereas your _replacements_..." He broke off, tapping the side of the boy with his boot. The boy didn't move. Only now did Judy notice a small puddle of red forming in the mud beneath him. The girl's white dress was beginning to stain red as well. As Judy stared at them, she felt tears come to her eyes.

"HOW COULD YOU?" She screamed, balling her fists and throwing Van Pelt her most angry glare, though the tears streaming down her face ruined the effect.

Van Pelt simply laughed. "It's the law of the jungle my dear" He said, as if it were the most common thing in the world. "Hunt, or be hunted. But, if you are _really_ looking for someone to blame, you need only look in a mirror."

"Wh-what do you mean?" She choked as she felt a sudden flush of guilt that she was not expecting.

"Like I said, _you_ were worthy. You and your brother are the best challengers to enter Jumanji. Trust me on that" Judy's eyes widened as Van Pelt respectfully nodded in her direction. "But not that you've freed that cur Alan, I imagine you'll move on, like everyone else who has played. And so, new players will find Jumanji, and the cycle will begin again."

"No! I won't let that happen!" Judy yelled, wincing as she saw blood freely flowing from the bodies of the two children.

"And how, may I ask, will you stop it from happening?" Van Pelt smiled.

"I'll destroy the game!" Judy yelled. "Then no one will be able to play-AAHHH!" Judy screamed as she felt something grab her ankles and yank her backwards. Before she knew what happened, she was upside down, starring down the barrel of Van Pelt's shotgun. Around them, the jungle suddenly came alive with the cawing of birds, the roaring of animals and the buzzing of insects. Even the trees themselves seemed to shake and moan. Judy thrashed desperately, trying to escape, but the vines that held her ankles were like iron, and they were slowly creeping up her legs. She could feel them tightening.

"YOU THINK YOU ARE THE FIRST TO TRY? YOU CANNOT DESTROY JUMANJI!" Van Pelt's voice roared over everything else. "JUMANJI MUST EXIST, AND IT MUST HAVE A PLAYER!"

Judy felt her face whiten as Van Pelt suddenly lowered his gun and stepped forward. He grasped Judy's upside down face and pulled it so they were eye to eye. "Tell me, who would you prefer to play this game? A champion who has triumphed here time and again? Or a rookie who would not last five minutes?"

Judy, who was now wrapped up as far as her chest, gasped and shook her head as she realized what he meant. "I can't, I'll never survive! And there's _no_ _way_ I'm risking Peabody's life!"

"Maybe you wouldn't survive at _this_ level" Van Pelt said cryptically. "But if you were to rise to the _next_ level, maybe you would persevere. What do you say, Judy Shepard?" Judy gave a muffled scream as she suddenly felt the creeping vines wrap around her face with lightning speed. "Are You Game?" Van Pelt paughed as the vines covered Judy's eyes, covering her entire body like a mummy. Judy screamed as darkness enveloped her.

"NO!" Judy sat bolt upright, her face and body drenched in sweat. She took a deep breath, than another. She glanced around, seeing her bedroom illuminated by sunlight streaming through the white curtains that covered the windows.

"It was just a dream" She told herself. "It was just a dream" She sighed with relief as she got out of bed. But it seemed so real.


	2. Chapter 2- marked

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 1**

"Are you okay, Judy?" Aunt Nora asked at the table. "You haven't touched your food."

"I'm not very hungry" Judy replied, which was an understatement. The scenes from her dream were so vivid she was worried that she would puke if she tried to eat anything.

"Me neither" Peter replied from across the table. He had taken a few bites of his cereal, but he mostly just sat there swirling it around in his bowl. He looked depressed.

"Okay, what's with you two?" Nora finally demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"They're going through changes, Nora" Alan spoke up from the head of the table. "We all are. Don't worry about it" Judy shot Alan a grateful look and he smiled back at her.

"You okay, Petey?" Alan turned and ruffled Peter's hair. Judy grinned because she knew that Peter hated that. Peter gave Alan an annoyed look, but surprisingly, he didn't protest or argue.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Alan leaned closer as Nora got to her feet and headed out of the kitchen.

"I had a bad dream, last night" Peter muttered. "About Jumanji" Judy felt her body stiffen she saw Alan's eyes widen.

"What happened?" They both asked at the same time.

"Well, I saw Van Pelt shoot two people, calling them our 'replacements', then he warned me not to destroy Jumanji, or that something bad would happen. He said that Jumanji always needs a player." Peter explained, looking very depressed.

Judy's eyes widened. "I had the same dream" She said. Peter looked up at her and Alan turned to gaze at her. "What do you think it means?

Alan's face darkened. "It means that the sooner we destroy the game, the better off we'll all be." He said firmly, rising from the table. Judy and Peter watched him walk out of the kitchen, muttering to himself. Peter turned to look at Judy.

"Well?" Both kids looked up to see Alan glancing back into the room. "Are you two ready?"

"Ready?" Judy and Peter both stared at him.

Alan rolled his eyes. "Ready to destroy Jumanji?"He reminded them,sounding both eager and annoyed. Judy and Peter leapt to their feet.

"What?" They both demanded, panic flaring on their faces. Alan took a step backwards and stared at them, looking confused.

"Um-so...soon?" Judy corrected herself, trying to hide the nervousness flooding her mind and body. "Shouldn't we wait until after school?"

"Uh,yeah" Peter caught on. "We need the time to uhhh...get in the mood! " He gave a hopeful smile.

Alan snorted. "Nonsense! No time like the present! I'll get the fire going, you guys get the game from the attic!" Alan darted out the door and they could hear him snapping his fingers and muttering happily to himself as he headed outside. Judy and peter turned to look at each other. Peter nervously gulped, and Judy felt like doing the same.

"You can feel it too, can't you Peabody?" Judy asked.

Peter nodded. "Jumanji's not going to go down without a fight, will it?"

Judy shook her head. "Let's just get it over with." Judy pushed her chair back.

After placing their dishes in the sink, Judy and Peter slowly made their way up the stairs. As Judy reached the first floor landing, she suddenly froze as a sound reached her ears. She felt Peter stiffen beside her and saw his wide eyes lock with hers.

"_Drums!"_ He whispered. Judy nodded. The sound of tribal drums was ringing from upstairs, paralyzing Judy with fear. Peter suddenly frowned and began dashing up the stairs.

"Peter, where are you going?"

"I'm through letting Jumanji scare me!" He yelled back,dashing down the corridor. Her heart still pounding, Judy followed. The drumming grew louder, she began to feel it in the floor. As she burst through the door to the attic, the drumming was so loud that she had to cover her ears. She saw Peter standing in front of the game, which was vibrating and shaking, like something was trying to get out. Peter, his own ears covered, turned to look at Judy as she approached. He said something, but the drumming was so loud that Judy couldn't hear him.

"WHAT?!" She said

Peter yelled something back, but she could barely hear him.

"JUST PICK UP THE GAME!" Judy screamed as the drumming seemed to get louder.

Peter shook his head, he suddenly looked panicked.

"FINE! I'LL DO IT!" Judy reached to grab one side of the game board, but as soon as she touched it, the board suddenly snapped open. The crystal eye in the center of the board was glowing like a miniature sun. The board also felt strangely hot. Judy meant to drop the board, but her fingers wouldn't respond. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remove her fingers from the gameboard, almost like they had been glued to the hot wood.

"JUMANJI _MUST_ HAVE A PLAYER!" A deep voice echoed in Judy's mind. Panicking, she glanced at Peter and saw the same panic in his eyes. A hissing sound drew them back to the game and both kids gasped as the eye, which had been yellow before, now turned a deep black. As they watched, the blackness seemed to leak out fo the edges of the eye and travel across the gameboard towards them, like a living shadow. Judy's heart quickened as she watched the blackness come towards her and tried harder to move her hand. She could feel the muscles in her fingers, but they weren't listening to her and retained their iron grip on the box. She couldn't do anything except watch the shadow creep up to the edge of the box, then flow onto her hands. The instant the shadow touched her skin, a wave of intense, numbing cold shot through her body,so cold Judy cried out in pain and surprise as she lost all feeling in her hands. Suddenly there was a flash and Judy's hand suddenly burned. She was so surprised, her fingers suddenly opened and the gameboard fell to the attic floor. Judy clutched her right hand and watched in amazement as the shadow buried itself into her hand, tunneling under her skin. Before her eyes, a pattern began to trace itself on the back of her hand, covering her knuckles and spreading down her fingers. As suddenly as the action started, it stopped, and the cold numb feeling went away, replaced by the dull ache of pain. Judy glanced up and met Peter's eyes. Silently Peter held up his left hand, a similar design covered the back of his hand.

For a few minutes, no one spoke. "Jude" Peter finally mumbled, "What just happened to us?" Judy couldn't answer, she just stared at her hand again.


	3. Chapter 3- Vision

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 2**

Judy normally enjoyed going to school, in opposition to Peter, who would be perfectly happy if school disappeared forever tomorrow. But today, she had trouble focusing on what the teacher was saying. Instead of the teacher's voice, which was usually loud and clear, all she heard was the thumping of her heart, which sounded _very_ similar to tribal drums. A strange feeling started to come over her, not a bad feeling, but a good feeling. She felt like a river of energy was flowing through her. As the day wore on, she became frigidity and had trouble sitting still. And there was the matter of her hand. It still burned from being 'marked' by Jumanji this morning. She hadn't had time to cover it with a glove, as Nora had dragged them out of the attic right after Jumanji had marked them. Judy had worried about what she would say when people saw the mark, but to her amazement, no one seemed to notice that she had developed an intricate tattoo on her hand. She had even waved it in front of someone's face to see if they would notice, but they didn't seem to be able to see it.

"This is really strange" Judy exclaimed to Peter at lunch, having just described her morning to him.

"Tell me about it" Peter replied, and he told her that he'd been having similar feelings all morning, his hand was throbbing, all this pent up energy flowing through him, the strange pounding in his ears. "It's gotta be Jumanji messing with our minds." he reasoned.

Judy shook her head, unsure. "Jumanji's never done this kind of thing before. Well, not to me" She added, as Peter gave her a look. A vision of her brother being transformed into various animals flashed through Judy's mind and she fell silent.

"Well" Peter flexed his hand, glancing at the swirling design. "It _does_ look knarley, and its kinda cool having a tattoo that only you can see"

Judy couldn't help grinning, but quickly sobered up. "I don't think Jumanji gave us these to make us 'look knarly'." She commented, clenching her fist. "We got these for a reason, so we just have to figure out what that reason is"

"Hey! Give those back!" A sudden outburst made both kids glance up from their meals. A few feet away, they saw Gregory, one of Peter's teammates on the baseball field being picked on by Rock and his gang. Rock had snatched a deck of trading cards from the boy's backpack and was waving them in the air, out of reach.

"Hah Hah!" He taunted. "The little dweeb still plays with dweeby baseball cards!"

"I wonder if he sleeps with them under his pillow" A voice piped up, making Judy groan. Turning she saw a girl striding towards them, wearing a fancy looking sweater and skirt combination, but platinum blonde hair seemed to flash in the cafeteria lights. Trailing her were at least a dozen other girls, all of whom were trying to imitate her as best they could.

"Cecelia" Rock breathed as she approached, a dumb smile creeping over his face. His eyes lost focus and he just stood there as if hypnotized.

"Hello, Rock" Cecelia purred, wiling her eyelids at him. Rock's face turned red. Judy looked away, disgusted. Every boy had a crush on Cecelia Rivers, the new girl. She'd only been at school for a month and she already seemed to run the place. Oh sure, she acted so innocent most of the school loved her, but people who she had abused, like Judy, knew what a witch she could be.

Judy braced herself to hear Peter's 'lovologue', a praise he would say every time he saw Cecelia, he would go all dough-eyed and would start drooling. Then he would stand there like an idiot and watch her go by, just like every other boy in school.

But Peter didn't say anything. Judy glanced at him. He was watching Cecelia, but he wasn't doe-eyed and his mouth was closed. "So, aren't you going to go ga-ga over Cecelia?" Judy teased. Peter looked at her, frowning in confusion.

"Why would I do that?" he asked.

"Because you always have since she came here" Judy replied, surprise clear in her voice.

"I don't know, she looks, different today. Not nearly as hot as usual" Peter replied, giving a small smile. Judy choked on her sandwich as she tried not to laugh. As she washed it down with water, Peter suddenly groaned. "Uh oh, look who's here" Judy turned around in her seat, and almost wished she hadn't. Evan Mill was coming their way. An extremely handsome boy, Evan had girls fawning over him the same way that guys fell for Cecelia. That is most girls. Even Judy would swoon over Evan as he walked by, but today, there was something different about him. He didn't look as attractive as he usually did. Judy glanced away form him to meet the wide-eyed gaze of her brother.

"What?" Judy asked, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"You're not watching him?" Peter gaped. "You always do that!"

Judy shrugged. "I guess he's 'not as hot' as usual today" She said, smiling. Peter snorted and shook his head. At that moment both siblings heard a hiss and their tattoos suddenly burned. Under their eyes, the lines embedded on their wrists began to glow dimly. Both kids clasped their hands over their tattoos.

"What's going on?" Peter exclaimed as the room suddenly started to spin. The cafeteria disappeared, being replaced by jungle. Judy gasped as the Stalker appeared before them.

"_Jumanji is waiting"_ He hissed at them. "_It's time to begin your_ _training_" Before either Judy or Peter could ask what he meant, the Stalker and the jungle vanished.

"What did he mean by 'training'"?" Peter asked, wide-eyed. Judy glanced down at her tattoo, which was still throbbing slightly.

"I don't know Peter, but I don't like the sound of it" She admitted, looking worried.


	4. Chapter 4- Return

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 3**

After-school, Judy and Peter arrived home to find that Alan was out hunting-for a job. He left a note saying they could deal with Jumanji later. The two siblings tried, and failed, to focus on their homework. After a half hour, Judy threw down her pencil in disgust, glaring up at the ceiling of her bedroom. Ever since they had come home, they both heard the sound of tribal drums coming from the attic. The more Judy had tried to ignore the noise, the louder it seemed to get, pounding in her mind like a sledgehammer. There was also her tattoo, which had started pulsating with heat soon after the drumming had begun. The relentless assault by these two things made it impossible for Judy to finish her homework.

"Fine" Judy snorted, rising from her chair and stalking out the door. He met Peter outside the door to the attic, and he looked just as annoyed as she was.

"_Come, players"_ Both children froze as they heard the Stalker's voice. _"Jumanji is waiting" _

"Yeah" Judy growled as they opened the door and snuck up the attic stairs. "Waiting for me to teach it some manners"

"Chill Jude" Peter cautioned. "Insulting Jumanji never helps, you know that"

"Let's just get this over with" Judy dashed ahead when they entered the attic. The sound of drumming was now so loud that the siblings were tempted to place their hands over their ears. In the far corner, near the circular window, the game boards was rattling so hard it sounded like a stampede. The siblings ran over and Judy threw her hand down on top of the board to stop it rattling, but the board shuddered and burst open under her hands, flooding the room with light. Squinting through it, they saw words forming in the crystal eye in the center of the board:

_The Answers you seek lie within_

_Let your training now begin_

"I don't like the look of this!" Peter yelled as his face suddenly began to stretch.

"Here we go again!" Judy felt her body contort as both of them were engulfed in an aura of light and sucked into the game.

* * *

Judy felt herself falling though a vortex of shimmering lights. The mark on her hand glowed in an eerie red light. There was a sudden flash and Peter and Judy thudded into the leafy ground.

"Peabody, are you okay?" She groaned as she started to rise to her feet, but then froze as she heard a strange, but familiar clicking noise. She glanced up, straight into the painted eyes of a Manji warrior, who leveled a spear at her. Judy gulped. The Manji said something in his weird language. He sounded angry about something. Out of the corner of her eye, Judy saw Peter in rapid-fire discussion with two other Manji warriors. She felt a twinge of envy. _Sometimes I wish I could speak Manji_, she thought. "What are they saying?" She asked. The Manji warrior covering her thrust forward its spear and Judy fought the urge to cringe as the sharp stone tip was waved in her face.

"They're saying we just interrupted one of their biggest tribal ceremonies" Peter translated.

"And?"

"And, well, the penalty for doing that, is extreme torture" Peter finished.

Judy sighed. "Great! What _else_ could happen today?" She made to sit up, but the Manji warrior shrilled and jabbed the spear point into her face. "Ow! Stop it!" Judy snapped, raising her hand to brush the spear away. But as she did, the warrior shrieked and darted backwards. Judy froze as the Manji pointed to the marks on her hand. The warriors who surrounded them suddenly began chattering like squirrels, most of them glanced at each other, a few had run into the bushes, one or two had thrown themselves onto their knees in front of her. The chattering grew louder when Peter showed them his mark. Most of the Manji formed a group and began chattering eagerly among themselves. Peter tried to ask them what they were talking about, but they ignored him. Judy thought about using this distraction to run, but several Manji were still pointing spears at them and every twitch of her muscles seemed to alert them.

"What are they saying?" Judy whispered.

"I-I don't know" Peter replied. "Something about a prophecy, and a "blessing of the jungle". They're speaking so fast I can't hear anything else"

Suddenly the crowd parted and a familiar Manji appeared, short and squat. "Tribal Bob!" Both kids exclaimed, Peter in delight, Judy in nervousness. While it was true that Tribal Bob had helped them many times, he'd also come after them and Alan many times, so Judy wasn't ready to call him a friend yet.

The manji leader stepped up to Peter and clicked in Manji. Peter held up his marked hand, Tribal Bob looked it over very carefully, then turned to Judy and clicked. "Hold up your hand" Peter translated. Judy did as told, and Tribal Bob looked all over her hand as well. Judy noticed he did not touch either of them. Then he turned and made an announcement to the assembled Manji and, to Judy and Peter's amazement, they all dropped their spears and fell to the ground, bowing low before the siblings.

"Woah" Judy turned to find Peter staring wide-eyed at the bowing Manji.

"What?" She asked.

"Tribal Bob just called us the "true players" Peter turned to look at her. "He says we both bear the 'mark of Jumanji'."

"You mean these things?" Judy flexed her marked hand. Before Peter could answer, Tribal Bob turned back around to face Judy. He narrowed his eyes, like he was examining her mind, and chattered something in Manji.

'_Follow_'

Judy's eyes widened as Tribal Bob's words, though in Manji, rearranged themselves into english in her brain. "D-did you just...?" Judy paused. Instead of english, her mouth had given a series of clicks and whistles.

"Judy! You just spoke Manji!" Peter exclaimed.

"What's happening?" Judy tried to exclaim, but once again, her words came out in Manji. She clapped her hands over her mouth as Peter grinned.

'_Follow!'_ Tribal Bob clicked, this time more forcefully, before turning and walking back in the direction he had appeared from. Peter and Judy glanced at each other, than rose to their feet and followed him. The manji warriors, whom had been bowing this whole time, rose as one and trailed behind them, now silent as ghosts.

Peter and Jusy followed Tribal Bob though the jungle. He moved silently, leaping over small rocks and large tree roots that got in his way. Judy and Peter were not so quiet, barging through brush, tripping over roots and cursing. Every so often, Tribal Bob would glance back and his eyes would narrow, giving him the uncanny appearance of a schoolteacher whose students are not paying attention to the lesson at hand. After Judy caught him doing this for the third time, she decided to try to be more quiet. It meant she had to go slower and twice she felt the spearpoints of the Manji behind her jab into her back, but she threw them a glare and they backed off. They suddenly seemed afraid of her now.

After they had hiked through the jungle for what felt like hours, Tribal Bob pushed aside a bush to reveal a large stone wall. Looking up, Judy saw that the wall was actually the base of a pyramid-like structure that was completely overgrown with shrubbery. The stones were also painted in a greenish-brown color, the exact color of the jungle around it, thus making the structure almost invisible. There was a sudden clicking from the other Manji. Judy couldn't understand all the words, but it was clear that they were very nervous.

_'Enter'_ Tribal Bob whistled.

"Why? What is this place?" Judy heard Peter ask in Manji

_'Temple of True Players'_ Tribal Bob replied, than he waved his spear towards an opening halfway up the side of the pyramid. _'Enter, learn prophecy'_ He then planted his spear into the forest floor and crossed his small arms, as if daring them to argue. Judy and Peter exchanged a glance.

"Should we?" Peter suddenly seemed worried. Judy could hear the other Manji shifting anxiously. If this place scared the Manji, Jusy could understand why Peter was afraid.

"Might as well" She said finally. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and placed her foot on the first step. Nothing happened. "Come on" She said as she started climbing. After giving a final, worried glance at Tribal bob, who nodded, Peter followed.


	5. Chapter 5- Enter

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 4**

Judy and Peter reached the entrance a lot sooner than they expected. And to Judy's, surprise, she wasn't even sweaty. She'd never tell Peter this, but she hated the humidity of the jungle. It sometimes felt like she was wading through water instead of air, but now she felt different, she felt comfortable.

"Wow" Peter's expression snapped Judy out of her reprieve. She glanced up, and her eyes widened. Towering over them was an archway that resembled a snarling lion's head. Angry-looking stone eyes glared down at them from the top and the underside of the archway's 'mouth' was decorated with wicked-looking teeth. Stone swirls that resembled a lion's mane flowed along the walls surrounding the portal and the ledge was also decorated with teeth. It looked like a gigantic lion's head was jutting out of the pyramid, waiting to swallow them.

"Cool Beans!" Peter exclaimed before dashing into the Lion's 'mouth'.

"Peter! Wait!" Judy yelled as she followed him into the shadows of the archway, shuddering slightly as she glanced up at the 'teeth' handing above her head. Was it just her imagination, or did they just quiver? Spotting her brother just ahead, she picked up her pace. She found him standing before an enormous sealed stone door that was intricately carved with swirling patterns and decked with various jungle animals including crocodiles, zebra, apes, and snakes. But the biggest animals were two cat-like creatures that reared up on either side. As Judy looked closer, she realized that one was covered in what looked like rosettes, like a leopard. The other, the one on the door closest to her, was striped, kind of like a tiger.

"Hey Jude, look at these!" Peter pointed to a pair of human hand-prints that were carved into the door at their level. All around the prints were swirls of spiraling patterns that looked strangely familiar. Judy glanced down at the markings on her hand. They were _very_ similar! She glanced at her hand, then at the hand-prints on the door. With a sudden feeling of dread, she realized what was supposed to happen. She caught her brother's eye, and knew he had realized the same thing.

"Peabody, I know what you're thinking, don't!" Judy cried out in vain as her brother dashed forward and placed his tattooed hand in one of the hand-prints. Both the tattoo and the prints glowed with an eerie green light, which began to spread to the carvings on the left side of the door. The ground started to rumble and the 'mouth' of the lion above them began to shake. As the leopard-like cat carving became haloed in green light, a roar pierced the air. "Peter! Get away from there!" Judy yelled, gazing up in horror as the lion's 'teeth' began to tremble.

"I can't! My hand is stuck!" Peter yelled in response. He jerked backwards, but his hand remained on the wall as if it had been glued in place. Judy rushed over, grabbed Peter's arm, and pulled with all her strength, but it made no difference. By now the green light had covered all the carvings on the left side of the doors, but the right side carvings remained dull and lifeless, except for the hand-print, which was glowing with a deep red light. Another roar filled the air, and Judy felt a sudden warmth in her hand. She saw the marks on her hand glow the same color as the glowing hand-print on the other door. Something suddenly seemed to click and before Judy knew what she was doing, she had reached across the door and slapped her tattooed hand into the glowing outline. As soon as she touched the stone, she felt a surge, like an electric charge travel through her body, down her arm, and into the wall. The glowing outline changed from red to green and before her eyes, the light spread, traveling along the spiral patterns and highlighting various animals, and as they did so, Judy heard their calls in her mind. She saw the light illuminate a snake and heard a deep hiss. She saw an ape light up and heard a series of booming whoops. She watched as the light reached the tiger carving and a deep roar echoed in her mind.

SLAM! There was a sudden noise from above and the roof of the 'lion's mouth' slammed down behind them. As the same time, there was a snapping, crackling sound coming from the wall and the glowing doors suddenly swung inwards so fast that Peter and Judy were yanked off their feet. As they were flung through the doorway, their hands suddenly detached from the doors and the siblings were flung forward onto a surprisingly slippery floor. As they skidded across the surface, they saw to their horror that the room ahead branched into two separate tunnels.

"We gotta stop!" Peter yelled.

"I know! Grab something!" Judy cried out, lunging for a torch bracket sticking out from the wall. She missed.

"I can't" Peter screamed as the floor slanted sharper, causing them to pick up speed and drift away from each other."Judy!" He yelled as he disappeared down the left tunnel.

"Peter!" Judy yelled back as she started sliding down the right tunnel, but she was able to grab the wall at the last second. Glancing back, she saw the temple doors slam shut. For a second she was engulfed in darkness, then her tattoo glowed and the torches lit up intensely, slowing an intricate carving of a boy and a girl on the back of the doors. Judy gasped, _the carvings looked just like her and Peter!_ Judy was so stunned by this she lost her grip and began sliding down into blackness. As she slid, she heard a voice whisper:

_"Welcome, my daughter. I've been waiting for you"_


	6. Chapter 6- Accept

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 5**

_"Welcome, my daughter. I have been waiting for you."_ Judy flinched as a growling voice filled her ears. She glanced around as she slid down the stone slide deeper into the temple, but she saw nothing but blackness.

"W-who's there?" The fear in Judy's voice was clear as she glanced around. Her words seemed to echo all around her.

"_I am the spirit of Jumanji"_ The voice hissed. As the same time, Judy felt a strange sensation come over her, like she had been dunked in frigid water, than popped into a roaring oven. Heat and cold chased each other across her skin.

"W-What's happening?" Judy wailed as she skidded around a corner so fast she nearly fell off the slide.

"_I have chosen you."_ The spirit hissed from over Judy's shoulder. Judy glanced behind her as she slid, and thought she saw a tattered black cloak darting out of sight.

"Chosen me? For what?"

"_To play, and fulfill the prophecy!"_ As the spirit's words fluttered through the air, Judy suddenly felt the slide beneath her come to an end, throwing her, screaming, into empty space. As Judy fell, a green light shone from above and began running down in strange patterns, revealing a large square chamber whose walls were covered with carvings. As the light fell downwards tracing along the carvings, Judy followed its trail, and saw that she was twenty feet off the ground, _and falling fast!_

Judy opened her mouth to scream, but before she could the tattoo on her hand pulsed and Judy felt her body move on its own accord. She tucked her legs in and tumbled forward, landing lightly on her hands and feet like a cat. She could feel the impact jar her legs and arms, but there was no pain.

"How did I...?" Judy gasped, staring at her hands in amazement. Suddenly the air was filled with laughter.

"_You really are the one"_ The spirit hissed. Judy glanced around the lit chamber, but saw no trace of the entity.

"Where are you? And for that matter, where am I?" She demanded. A bright flash caused her to turn to one of the chamber walls, which sported an enormous carving of a woman that looked very much like Judy. As she followed the wall, Judy saw that there were many such carvings, showing this woman running through the jungle, fighting animals and performing what looked like impossible feats.

"_This is the temple of the true players"_ The spirit seemed right beside her, but Judy couldn't see it, no matter how hard she looked. _"It has existed for as long as Jumanji has, as has the prophecy that is tied to it"_

"What prophecy?" Judy asked, staring at one carving that showed her fighting with the image of a man holding a rifle and wearing a _very_ familiar hat.

"_It is said that, just like the animals that inhabit it, Jumanji is a predator"_ The spirit explained. _"A predator that feeds off those who play it. The fear, the adrenaline, the excitement that the player feels, makes Jumanji stronger"_

"So the game feeds of the feelings of those who play it?" Judy summarized, glancing at another carving, which showed her leaping over a canopy of trees.

"_Yes. That is why Jumanji creates these clues, to keep the player trapped while Jumanji feeds. the longer a player stays in Jumanji, the more the game is able to feed off of them."_

"But if Jumanji is just trying to feed off of the players, why do some of them...you know...?" Judy's voice trailed off as she glanced down at her feet.

"_I do not presume to know how the jungles work, but I do know that while they may be savage and wild, they are also fair. They kill only those who do not respect them and who are unprepared to face their power."_ The spirit hissed, he seemed to understand.

"But what does this have to do with me?" Judy demanded, "Or this mark on my hand"

"_Jumanji finds you and your brother irresistible. You are ideal prey for it."_

Judy felt a stab of anger flood through her. "So you're saying that we're just a tasty snack for Jumanji, is that it?"

_"Yes...and no"_ The spirit's reply was hesitant. "_Jumanji simply feeds off of those who play it. When it can no longer do so, it will seek out new players. The game 'migrates' if you will, if one person throws the game away, another will eventually find it and the cycle will begin again"_

Judy's eyes narrowed as her memory flashed back to the dream with Van Pelt. He had said a similar thing. "I know! I know! 'Jumanji must have a player'" She ranted sarcastically.

_"Correct, but the prohecy states that this nomadic lifestyle will come to an end when the true players play the game. They will unlock great powers inside of Jumanji, and as long as they continue to play the game, Jumanji will feed only off of these two players, and no others."_ Judy perked up at this. "_These players form a partnership with Jumanji. Jumanji gives them power, and these players allow Jumanji to feed on them at its choosing."_

"So let me get this straight, the true players will willingly play Jumanji, _knowingly_ allow the game to feed off of them, to ensure the game doesn't target anyone else?"

_"Yes"_

"And you think that Peter and I are these 'true players'?" Judy asked, glancing at another carving, which showed Judy and Peter kneeling over what looked like a gameboard.

"_I do not think"_ The spirit rasped in her ear. "_ I know"_

"And what if we don;t continue to play?" Judy crossed her hands over her chest. "While I admit that my brother and I have learned a lot while playing Jumanji, this game held our buddy Alan prisoner for a number of years and seems to enjoy tormenting us."

"_If you choose not to play, than the game's nomadic lifestyle will continue, and it will seek out new prey. But answer me this, who would you prefer play the game? A seasoned veteran who has entered Jumanji multiple times? Or a foolish rookie who would not last five minutes?" _

Judy felt a stab of pain and remorse upon hearing these words and her memory again flashed back to her dream, she saw the two figures in fancy clothes lying on the forest floor, saw the pool of blood spreading out from under them, saw Van Pelt standing over them, smoking rifle in his hands, heard his jeering laugh ring through her ears and gritted her teeth. She didn't want to admit it, but the spirit was right. She didn't want to see Jumanji claim any more human lives, even if it meant she had to play the game forever. Her memory flashed back to when she and Peter had arrived at Alan's home for the first time, finding toys scattered all around. A tear came to her eye as she remembered how Alan had explained that they belonged to kids who...hadn't made it.

Judy clenched her fists as a mental battle broke out in her mind. She knew what was being asked of her. She was to serve as a shield between Jumanji's wildness and the innocent people of Danbury. She could do it. Her conscience screamed at her to do it, but her psyche fought back, plaguing her with visions of doubt. The most painful one was a vision of Jumanji hurting Peter, and with her being unable to do anything about it.

"But, how can I keep playing the game? Sure I'm capable of playing it now, but what will stop Jumanji from wiping me out as it has to other players?" She asked.

_"The True Players will unite with Jumanji, and the game will give them great powers to allow them to play at the highest level. You will have the strength of the jungle cat, the speed of the running antelope, the flexibility of the monkey, and the fluidity of the snake. Your senses will be sharper than you ever thought possible. Nothing will happen around you without you knowing about it. You will command the very power of the jungle animals."_ Despite her mixed feelings, Judy felt a smile creep across her face as she imagined herself with the power of the jungle animals. As she thought of this, a spark of hope flared in her chest. If she had this power, maybe she could keep her brother safe as well!

"If I agree to do this, can I be the _only_ true player?" Judy's voice was trembling with the feeling building up inside her. She suddenly found herself breathing hard. "If I agree to play, can you promise me the game will leave everyone else alone, including my brother?"

_"I make no promises about your brother, but as long as you play, the game will need no others."_ The spirit replied. Judy couldn't tell for sure, but it sounded sincere.

Judy took a deep breath and steeled herself. "If Jumanji promises me this, leaves my brother and the rest of the world alone, than I accept! I'M GAME!" She shouted those last words as loud as she could. As she did, she had a sudden sinking feeling, like she'd just signed an unbreakable contract.

"_Excellent. Than I, the spirit of Jumanji, recognize you, Judy Shepard, as a True Player. LET THE GAME BEGIN!"_ As the spirit finished speaking, the green light that lit up the carving walls began to peel away from the stone and began to run down the walls like a green glowing honey. Once it reached the floor, it reached out with tendrils that latched onto Judy, who gasped as she felt both burning heat and numbing cold spread into her body from the tendrils. She felt the light forcing itself against her skin and suddenly found that she couldn't stand. As she fell over, her body began writhing in a series of contortions that were beyond her power to stop. She suddenly heard the cries of many jungle animals, the trumpeting of elephants and the roaring of lions, the snorting of zebra and the cawing of birds. The noises got louder and Jusy suddenly felt a positive feeling, like these animals were all cheering for her. She could also hear the clicking and whooping of the Manji tribe and their tribal drums which became so loud her head felt like a drum.

"JUUUDDEE!" Judy gasped as her bother's voice pierce though all the other noise, shouting in what was either anger or fear. She couldn't tell. As the green liquid light rose up and covered her, she clenched her hands into fists, curled into a ball and squeezed ehr eyes shut.

"I'm sorry Peabody" She sobbed as she waited for Jumanji to do...who knew what.


	7. Chapter 7- Transformation

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 6**

Judy cried out as she felt the green energy flow into her. Her entire body burned like there was fire in her skin. Her very soul twitched like it was being electrocuted and she was powerless to stop her limbs from shaking. Through the pain, she was dimly aware that her overalls and t shirt had disappeared and was replaced by something else, but she was too hurt to see what it was.

"What's...happening?" She croaked, the strain on her body so great she could barely make out the words.

"_You have received the full power of Jumanji."_ The spirit hissed. With a great effort, Judy raised her head, and her eyes widened in surprise. Her vision was tinged green, the same color as the carvings had been, and before her hovered a dark shroud-covered figure with glowing red eyes. "_In the real world, the jungle never sleeps, life never stands still, it is in constant motion, it is full of energy, and as long as you are in Jumanji, so will you be"_ As the spirit spoke, Judy felt a rush of heat flow through her veins and her heart seemed to triple the speed it beat at. She suddenly felt restless and confined. She glanced at the stone walls surrounding her and nothing seemed to matter except the desire to escape, to feel wind in her hair and the sun on her back. Almost without thinking, she leapt to her feet, snarling, and raced towards the wall with the giant carving of her. As she ran, she reached down without looking and picked up a wooden staff that was as long as she was. Growling she lunged at the far wall, the tattoo on her hand glowed and the wall slid open, revealing a dark tunnel full of cobwebs. Barely breaking stride, Judy dashed into the tunnel and the wall slammed shut behind her, but she could still hear the spirit's laugh chasing her as she ran along the darkened passageway.

As Judy ran along the tunnel, she leapt over fallen columns and passed torch brackets covered in cobwebs, dust, and cockroaches. In the back of her mind, she wondered how she could see all this in what was supposed to be pitch blackness, but somehow her new green-tinted vision allowed her to see things. It was kinda like she was wearing night-vision goggles, she could see everything, even though it should have been pitch black. As she leapt over a chasm on the floor, she saw the tunnel dead-ended in a wall and skidded to a stop. She hissed in frustration and began pacing along the wall, feeling the thick stone. He hand glowed again, and the stone slowly slid open. Snorting, Judy bolted through the door and out into the jungle. As she ran, she was dimly away of Manji warriors watching her, bowing and says "true player". But she ignored them.

_This is amazing!_ Judy yelled mentally as she raced through the jungle, leaping over rocks and dodging around tree trunks. She could feel the heart thudding like a drum, yet she never seemed to grow tired. _I feel like I could run forever. I never knew Jumanji had this kind of power!_

Suddenly, emerged from the jungle cover and onto a field of tall grass. A herd of zebra glanced up as she appeared, cried out in alarm and began running. Without breaking stride, Judy ran right into the midst of the herd, passing zebra after zebra. One of the biggest of the animals snapped at her with its teeth as she passed it, but she growled at it and the creature shied away.

As Judy left the zebra herd, she spotted a river in front of her and thought about stopping, but her body didn't seem to respond, instead of slowing she went faster. _What do I do?_ She asked, herself, then the noticed the staff in her hand and an idea took shape in her mind. It was crazy, but it was better than getting wet. Positioning the staff in her hands, when she reached the end of the bank, she planted it on a large rock sticking out of the river's edge and easily vaulted across the river. Slipping a little on the soft mud of the far shore, she paused to catch her breath. _How did I do that?_ She wondered, staring at the staff in shock. It was a simple wooden pole, she didn't see anything special about it, it felt really solid and strong, but it was actually really light. Judy twirled it like a baton, then stopped as she noticed something. Both her hands had marks on them. In fact, there were tiger stripes travelling up her arms, which were also darker. Walking towards the edge of the river, Judy gazed down at her reflection, and gasped.

Staring back at her from the water was a completely different person. Judy's skin was dark brown, the color of mud, and her arms and legs were striped with black. Instead of her overalls and t-shirt, she was wearing an outfit that looked to be made of leaves and hide, it looked weird, but it felt comfortable. Her hair was still blonde, but it was dark and dirty, and was streaked with black. Her face was framed by black patterns that reminded her of tiger's stripes, her eyes glowed green and Judy could swear her teeth had sharpened.

"Wow. Intense" Judy exclaimed, but like before, her words came out in Manji. Suddenly, Judy heard a rustling behind her and spun around as a figure leapt from the bushes. Judy leapt aside and hissed angrily. The figure growled back and Judy paused. It was another human, wearing an outfit similar to hers, but it was a boy. His skin was as brown as hers was and was speckled with black. The bottom half of his face was black and the top half was covered in what looked like spots, or rosettes. His hair was brown as well and his eyes glowed green like hers.

_Wait a second_. Judy thought, squinting closely at the rosettes on the figure's face. But before she could get a closer look, the figure growled at her and lunged, swinging a flint knife. Judy leapt out of the way and screamed "Peabody wait! It's me!"


	8. Chapter 8- revelation

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Sorry It's taken me so long to update the particular story. I've been blocked until recently.**

**Chapter 7**

As Judy's scream rang through the air, the figure froze, its mouth went slack and its glowing eyes opened wide. For a few seconds it didn't move, then it cocked its head.

"J-Jude?" It croaked in Manji, but it was defiantly Peter's voice. "Is that you?"

"Yes" Judy nodded her head.

Peter's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Prove it!" He hissed, flexing his flint daggers. Judy heard herself growl back and she twirled her staff between her fingers almost unconsciously.

The tension in the clearing suddenly seemed to skyrocket. Peter crouched down, baring sharpened teeth, and Judy felt her body adopt a similar position. It was like her body suddenly had a mind of its own, and it was itching for a fight. Part of her wanted to feel the thrill of battle, of trying out her new staff in battle, but her mind screamed at her to stop. Judy knew she couldn't hurt her little brother. If she didn't think of something soon, there would be a scuffle. Suddenly she had an idea "Ask me something." She clicked, though her voice was low and threatening. "Something only _we_ would know"

Peter frowned and Judy could see he was thinking hard. "What was the reason our parents went to Canada?" He finally hissed.

Judy paused, though her mind still kept racing a mile a minute. Images of her parents flooded her mind, but despite the despair that surged through her, she smiled. "A skiing trip" She answered, then dropping her voice she continued. "They always said they wanted to go skiing as a family"

Peter's eyes widened and he almost dropped the flint daggers he clasped in each hand. "Jude?"

Judy nodded, her smile widening. For a few seconds, the siblings just stood there looking at each other, then faster than they could blink, they leapt forward and hugged.

"Jude, what happened to you?" Peter asked, backing away and looking over his sister with wide eyes

"I could ask you the same thing" Judy countered, but she had a sickening feeling in her stomach that she already knew what had happened.

"Well, I fell into this big chamber full or carvings and then..." Peter started but Judy stopped him.

"Wait, let me guess. The 'spirit of Jumanji' said you were a true player and told you that Jumanji is a predator that feeds off fo those who play it, and then it made you an offer, right?" She growled, getting angrier by the second

Peter nodded. "It said that if I agreed to keep playing Jumanji, the game wouldn't target anyone else. But how'd you know?"

"Cause it made me the same offer!" Judy stabbed her staff into the ground.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that I thought I had made it very clear that if I agreed to keep playing, Jumanji was to leave you alone too!" Judy clenched her fists in anger. "I should have known Jumanji would twist our deal around!" Judy gave an angry screech that seemed to echo through the trees. The jungle around them, which had been active and noisy a few minutes ago, suddenly fell silent as a tomb. Judy's eyes widened and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Did I just do that?" she clicked, glancing around nervously.

"Yep" Peter clicked, looking nervous, but also a little impressed. He stretched his earth-colored limbs, the black rosettes covering his arms winking as they passed though the dappled beams of sunlight filtering down through the trees. "To be honest, I'm not really complaining. This is kinda cool" He suddenly looked at his sister, his face serious. "And I _can_ take care of myself, you know" He added, his tone hardening.

Judy felt a sad smile wrap around her face, even as her heart sank deeper into her chest. "I know" She clicked. "I'm sorry Peabody, I just thought that protecting everyone included you too"

For a minute, Peter glared at his sister through narrowed eyes, but then he smiled and shrugged. "It's okay. I would have done the same." He glanced around as the silent jungle became active once again. "So, what now?"

Before Judy could answer, the bushes on the edge of the clearing rustled. Tribal Bob stepped into the open. He looked the two siblings over and his square mouth widened into what resembled a smile. The Manji warriors flanking him had thrown themselves unto to the ground, bowing low, chanting in hushed voices. Even though they could now understand Manji, Peter and Judy could barely understand what they were saying.

"_Come_" Tribal Bob clicked. "_We begin training_" Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked away through the bushes. The siblings exchanged a glance and followed him.

**(Meanwhile)**

"Hey everybody! I'm back, and I got a job!" Alan's voice rang out as he closed the main door behind him.

"You did? That's excellent!" Aunt Nora stepped out of the kitchen, smiling widely. "Where are you working?"

"Sir Save-a-lot needs someone to help unload trucks in the mornings and evenings." Alan explained, before looking sheepish. "It's not the most glamorous job, but..."

"Any job is better than none" Nora cut him off, patting Alan on the jaw. "This calls for a celebration"

Alan grinned widely, then glanced around. "Where are the kids?"

"I believe they're still doing their homework." Nora glanced up the stairs. "They've been quiet for a while now"

"Hm, think I'll check up on them" Alan said as he started up the stairs.

"Peter! Judy!" He called as he climbed, but there was no answer from either sibling. As Alan reached the second landing, he glanced around. The doors to both Peter and Judy's rooms were closed, but the attic door lay ajar. "Jumanji" Alan frowned. "I never did burn the game" He took a step towards the attic door than he paused. Ideally, he was wanted Peter and Judy to be there when Jumanji burned, but Alan was starting to feel uncomfortable. He shivered as many unpleasant memories flooded his mind and his hand shook on the banister. The sooner he burned that accursed game, the sooner everyone would feel better, including Peter and Judy. Nodding to himself, Alan stepped over to the attic door and opened it.


	9. Chapter 9- Training

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 8**

Judy tried to control her breathing as she wiped sweat away from her forehead. Slowly, trying not to make any noise, she peeked over the top of the tall bush she was hiding behind, and froze. Standing three feet away from her was a Manji warrior carrying a wicked-looking spear. Fortunately, his back was to her, studying a trail of footprints in the soft earth. As she watched, he knelt down to get a batter look at them. The trail of footprints ended in the middle of the mud puddle, and the Manji warrior scratched his head.

_The old disappearing footprints trick! I knew that would work!_ Judy smiled and one hand gripped her wooden staff more tightly. _I've got him this time!_ She tensed her body, like a cat, ready to pounce. She watched the warrior place his spear down and kneel close to the ground. _Now's my chance!_ She thought, and slowly began to stalk forwards.

CRACK! Judy froze as she heard a small twig crack under her foot as she stepped on it. It wasn't a very loud sound, but the Manji had sharp ears. Sure enough, she saw the warrior stiffen, than slowly turn toward her hiding place, one hand reaching for his spear. It was now or never!

"HI-YAH!" Judy screamed as she erupted from her bush, swinging her staff in an arc. But the Manji warrior was faster than she thought. In the blink of an eye, he had seized his spear and brought it up to block her. Suddenly, Judy found herself in a pushing match against the warrior who, despite being shorter than her, was stronger. He began to slowly push Judy's staff backwards, the stone tip of his spear moving closer and closer to Judy's face. Judy gritted her teeth and pushed with all her strength, feeling a flush of satisfaction as the warrior's spear tip stopped an inch from her forehead. But her relief as short lived. Suddenly the warrior abandoned the pushing match and lunged forward, the top of his masked head colliding painfully with Judy's chest. Judy gave an "ooff" of surprise and lost her balance. She fell, rather heavily to the hard dirt and the Manji capitalized on his advantage. Lunging forwards, he placed one foot on Judy's stomach and the other on her arm, pinning her to the jungle floor and leaving her defenseless. His spear was hovering just above her eyes and Judy had to fight the urge to blink and flinch away. She tried to meet the Manji with a level gaze, but inside her heart was racing and she was certain her checks were flushed with disappointment. The Manji spoke, a series of tongue clicks, grunts and whistles.

"_You Lose_" Judy didn't reply, but she hissed in frustration, her jagged teeth bared and her green eyes flashing.

* * *

"Not again" Judy hissed as she pounded the floor where she sat. A little while had passed since the training session had ended, and the Manji had returned to camp. Peter and Judy had joined them.

Next to her, Peter glanced up from the fire where he had been speaking with Tribal Bob. He grinned "You get caught again?" He clicked in Manji. Ever since their transformations, the siblings had not spoken a word of English. Both of them has suddenly become fluent in Manji, like they'd been speaking it their whole lives.

"I almost had him that time!" Jusy growled in reply, her eyes flashing angrily. Peter shuddered and his smile faded.

"Hey, it's not big deal, I'm not doing much better"

"You beat your opponent" Judy pointed out, glancing at a Manji warrior who lay nearby on a stretcher.

Peter shook his head "Just dumb luck. He tread on a loose stone" He announced, causing Judy to shoot him a surprised look. "What?"

Judy shook her head, like she could not believe what she was hearing, and smiled. "The old Peabody would _never_ have missed an opportunity to brag about how awesome he was"

Peter snorted. "As you can see, I'm _not_ the old Peter" He gestured to his spotted skin and jungle-style clothing. "Just as _you_ are not the old Judy" He motioned to the leafy green top and muddy brown trousers that Judy was wearing, both made from what felt like jungle plants and some kind of leather. At least, she _thought_ it was leather

Judy sighed as she stared at her stripe-covered arms. "I don't think I'll _ever_ get used to this." She admitted.

Just then Tribal Bob rose to his feet and gave a whistle. All the Manji warriors, who had been chatting with each other, fell silent. The Manji on the stretcher glanced up and struggled to get to his feet. The Manji that Judy had fought had also gotten to his feet.

_"How have they done?"_ Tribal Bob asked.

Peter's Manji groaned weekly, but he signed that Peter had done well. Satisfied, Bob turned to Judy's Manji.

"_She is slow, but is clever. She trick me"_ The Manji simply said, the other Manji gasped and began chatting. Judy heard words like "Good fighter" and "warrior" being passed around the camp and felt herself beaming with pride.

Just then, the ground began to shake. The trees rattled and a cold wind blew through the Manji camp.

"What's going on?!" Peter yelled. Before Judy could answer, the siblings saw lights begin to dance around their bodies and there was a bright flash.

_ZAPPP!_ Peter and Judy blinked rapidly, finding themselves back in their attic. As they caught their breath, they heard footsteps on the attic steps.

"Peter! Judy! Are you up there?!" Alan yelled. The siblings exchanged a look of horror. Peter scooped up the game and nodded towards the door. Judy nodded back and dashed to one side of the opening door, allowing it to screen her from sight. Alan stepped into the room, wearing a brown suit and matching tie. "_Nora is right"_ Judy thought to herself. "_Alan really does look good in brown"_

"Judy! Petey!" Alan called, glancing around. His eyes fell on the barren crate where Jumanji had been laying, and he gasped. "Where'd the game go?" He exclaimed dashing forwards. As she did, Judy slowly inched out of her hiding place and managed to dart around the door and creep down the stairs without Alan hearing her. As she crept into the hallway, she could hear Alan moving and shifting things in the attic and she winced as she heard a THUD!

"Hope Peter gets out okay" She muttered as she entered her room, sat down at her desk and picked up be mathematics book. She had just completed the third problem when she heard footsteps and the door to her room burst open. Glancing up, she saw Alan stride into the room looking worried. "Alan, what's wrong?"

"Did you move the game?" He demanded, narrowing her eyes. Judy tried her best to keep her face expressionless as she put down her book.

"You mean Jumanji. No, of course not" She replied, feeling a flush of guilt about lying, but she felt that Alan would prefer that to the truth. "Why?"

Alan frowned. "Nothing, I'd better ask your brother..."

"Ask me what?" Alan jumped as Peter appeared behind him, smiling widely.

Alan sighed, then looked at both of them, he seemed disturbed.

"Alan, what's wrong?" Judy asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Jumanji's disappeared. I can't find it!" Alan admitted.

Judy made her eyes go wide. "WHAT?" She exclaimed making them both jump, leaping from her desk and dashing past them.

Judy burst into the attic and rushed over to the crate where the gameboard had always perched before. "Where is it?" She demanded as Alan and Peter burst into the room.

"I don't know! That's why I asked you!" Alan answered. Judy sank to her knees by the crate. Peter rushed up to her.

"_What are you doing"_ He whispered under his breath

"Just play along" Judy whispered back. Raising her voice, she said. "Peter did you move the game?"

A look of surprise appeared on her brother's face and he snorted. "No, of course not!"

"Then we need to find it. It's gotta be here somewhere" Judy winked at Peter, who nodded. With his eyes, he pointed to the area behind Judy. "Alan, you check that side of the attic, Peter and I will check this side"

Alan nodded and soon vanished into the junk cluttering the attic. Judy and Peter moved over to the other side and started 'searching'. "Were you able to hide it?" Judy asked, keeping her voice low.

Peter nodded, lightly tapping a large steamer trunk next to him and smiling. Then his smile faded. "You think we should tell him?" He motioned with his head towards Alan.

Judy shook her head. "You remember how he felt about us risking our necks to help him? Imagine how he'll feel when he learns we've bound ourselves to Jumanji, possibly forever."

Peter suddenly looked nervous. "You think he'd destroy Jumanji to try to break our deal?" He asked, glancing down at the mark on his hand.

"I'm not sure, but he'd definitely try something" Judy replied. Then she looked serious. "Alan's had more than enough torment from Jumanji for one lifetime. It' our issue now. As long as Jumanji's feeding on us, it won't go after anyone else"

"You sure that Jumanji will keep its word?" Peter asked. Just then the siblings felt their marks flare up, as if the game had heard them and was feeling insulted.

"Yeah, I think it will" Judy nodded. "Jumanji is our responsibility now. Let's keep it like that as long as we can" Peter nodded, looking determined. Judy felt her mark flare up again, but it was not hot like last time. It was like Jumanji was agreeing with them.

* * *

**Took longer than I thought but there you go! Let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10-Affects

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 9**

"That session we had this morning was awesome!" Peter crowed as he and Judy walked to school.

Judy snorted and shook her head. "If you say so, Peabody" she commented.

"Oh come on, Jude!" Peter smiled at his big sister. "Even you have to admit you've gotten a lot better recently"

Judy snorted again, but allowed a small smile to play over her lips. It had been roughly two weeks since the siblings had made their deal with Jumanji, and the kids had been playing the game almost every day. Judy would not admit it, but Peter was right. The last time she had faced off against a Manji warrior, she had fought him to a standstill. She still hadn't officially won a match without Peter's help, Peter was already defeating every Manji that challenged him in single combat, but she was still feeling pretty good about her rate of improvement.

"We're both getting better." She reasoned, playfully hitting Peter on the shoulder. But then she frowned. "I'm just wondering what Jumanji is 'training' us for"

"I've been thinking the same thing" Peter admitted and they both looked solemn as they walked. So solemn in fact, that they missed the call from Rock over at the baseball field.

"Hey Shrimp! Think fast!" Peter turned just in time to see a water balloon fly at him. Without even thinking, he threw himself backwards in a back-flip, the water balloon passing inches over his chest, before flipping again and landing in a crouch.

"Woah" Peter glanced down at his hands, then noticed the marked one was glowing slightly.

"Wow! Nice moves Peabody!" Judy exclaimed, laughing. But Rock and his gang had shocked looks on their faces. Rock had actually dropped the armful of water balloons he had been carrying, which had exploded around his feet, soaking his shoes, but he didn't seem to notice.

"How'd you do that?" Rock demanded, his eyes bulging. The rest of his gang seemed too stunned to speak.

"Um...Well, you told me to think fast. So I did" Peter quickly replied, trying to mask his own surprise. "Oh, um-by the way, your shoes are wet." Rock followed Peter's gaze down and noticed his soaked shoes for the firs time. He cried out, then clenched his fists. When he glanced back up, his eyes were full of anger.

"Shepard! Look what you made me do!" He yelled.

"Uh oh, I think you'd better..." Judy turned to finish, but Peter was already running for the school doors. Judy jumped out of the way as Rock and his gang followed, yelling and cursing. Judy darted out of the way as they ran past her, watching as Peter flipped over a bench, and scooted up the railing like a monkey, drawing stares from the other kids as he darted inside the school building. He had moved so quickly that by the time he had reached the school door, Rock and his gang had not even made it to the street yet. Rock cursed and kicked the curb. He was a pretty tough guy, but even he knew better than to bully someone at school when there were teachers around.

Judy snorted with amusement, but frowned when she heard students whispering about Peter's exploit in the corridors. Her brother was such a showoff! She's have to warn him about that. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to them, or Jumanji. Judy still felt uncomfortable about her deal with the game, she had a pretty strong feeling that Jumanji would not hesitate to exploit any loophole it came across. Sighing, she hurried to the gymnasium for Physical Education when she heard the bell ring.

A half-hour later, Judy stood, wearing shorts and a t shirt, on the school volleyball court, in the middle of a match. She would never admit this, but she used to hate P.E, it was probably her least favorite subject. She wasn't bad, but she preferred classes that made her think, rather than move. But ever since Jumanji had marked her, she had begun to enjoy it more. Regular classes suddenly felt stressful to her, mainly due to the fact that she had to sit in the same place for long periods of time.

"Judy! Heads up!" Judy snapped out of her thought-trance as one of her teammates shouted. She saw the volleyball arcing through the air, coming towards her. As she glanced at it, a flash of light seemed to erupt behind her eyes and she felt a strange urge suddenly bloomed inside of her. Her vision suddenly began tinged green and she felt an overwhelming desire to jump up and hit the ball. As she bent her knees and sprang, the yowl of a wildcat seemed to echo in her brain and she felt like she _was_ a cat, leaping up to catch a bird out of midair.

In almost no time at all, the ball was right in front of her and she lashed out at it as hard as she could. To her surprise, even though she saw the ball go flying, her hand did not seem to register contact. As Judy fell back down, she twirled and landed gracefully on her feet, feeling extremely giddy, until she noticed the coach and all the other students were staring at her, wide eyed. Some of the students jaws had dropped.

Judy suddenly felt self-conscious under everyone's gaze. "Uh-did I hit it?" She asked sheepishly, trying to change the topic of interest.

"Judy" One of the students spoke as if in awe, her eyes wide behind her wraparound glasses. "You just leapt eight feet into the air!"

"What?" Judy laughed, but inside she suddenly felt really nervous._ Not me too!_ She groaned mentally. Sure enough, when she, subtly, glanced down at the mark on her hand, she saw that it was glowing faintly. She also noticed, to her horror, that her fingernails had extended into what looked like claws. "A-are you sure?" She asked, looking back up again.

"Oh, yeah, at _least_" The girl nodded slowly. The coach, meanwhile, had strode to the other side of the gymnasium and had bent over the pick up something. Straightening up, he turned to face them, holding out the shredded remains of the volleyball.

Judy laughed nervously, "Ummm..too much power?" She joked, but no one laughed.

* * *

"So, how's our new volleyball star doing?" Peter teased as he slid into a seat across from his sister at the cafeteria.

"Shut up, Peter" Judy growled, glancing around the cafeteria, nearly all the students were looking at them, either with awe or fear, or in some cases, both.

"Ha! And I thought _I_ liked to show off!" Peter laughed, opening his lunch box and taking out a sandwich.

"I mean it, Peter" Judy clenched her fists, her tone firm. "This is serious! The last thing we need right now is to draw attention to ourselves."

"Why?" Peter asked through a mouth of egg salad. "It's not like they know anything about Jumanji."

"But word of what we've done has already begun to spread" Judy argued. "Imagine what would happen if one of these students told their parents, who then told Aunt Nora, who then told Alan? How long to you think it would take for that connection to be made?"

Peter frowned. "I think I see your point" He admitted, then he looked up and smiled. "Um Jude, bit of advice, do _not_ look behind you"

"What are you talking ab...?"

"Excuse me" Judy froze as a cool, silky smooth voice spoke from just behind her, a voice she recognized. Turning, she saw Evan Mill standing behind her, smiling in a disarming way that would have made any other girl's heart melt. Once upon a time, Judy would have felt that way as well, but now, not so much.

"Yes?" Judy snapped as she rose to her feet, annoyed at being interrupted. Even raised an eyebrow up about half a centimeter.

"You're Judy, right?" He asked, still with that smooth tone. Judy nodded, surprised that Even actually knew her name and her heart gave the tiniest of leaps. "I heard about your game-winning spike at the volleyball court today." As he spoke, he looked directly into Judy's eyes and Judy found herself floating in twin pools of deep blue and she felt very, very, relaxed. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

Judy opened her mouth to answer, when suddenly a _hissss,_ like a snake, filled her ears, her tattoo pulsed, and Judy felt herself rudely thrust back into reality. "Do what?" She asked, blinking rapidly in the sudden brightness of the cafeteria lights.

Evan's eyebrow arched all the way up, but he kept his cool smile and looked into her eyes again. "Don't be so modest Judy, a girl with your talent doesn't need to be modest" He flashed pearly white teeth and Judy felt her heart beat faster as he took her hand and gently massaged it. It felt...good. "You can trust me. Tell me, where'd you learn how to do that?" He asked in a low, almost hypnotic voice. Judy glanced down at her tattoo as it pulsed again and noticed something clutched in Evan's left hand, a tape recorder, whose spools were silently turning, indicating it was recording.

_He's playing me!_ Judy realized, and felt anger rear up inside of her like a snake as any admirable thoughts he had about Evan burst like a bubble. For a few seconds, she had actually thought that Even cared about her, but like all popular kids, he was simply taking advantage of her. Judy felt anger coarse through her arms and fought the overwhelming urge to lash out at Evan.

"Judy? Is there a problem?" Evan asked, his voice still low, and he looked into her eyes again. As Judy stared back into the pools of deep blue, and felt herself falling again, she sent a silent plea to Jumanji for help. She was answered by a tiger-like growl in her mind and she blinked, suddenly unaffected by Evan;s eyes. Smiling, she straightened up, looked Evan right in the eyes, and said.

"Evan, I have no idea what you are talking about, and I would appreciate it if you would stop looking at me like that. It's a little creepy" With that, Judy turned, sat back down, pulled a tomato and pepper sandwich from her lunchbox, and took a bite. As she glanced up, she saw Peter smiling and he winked. His eyes flashed green for a second and Judy heard a deep throaty purr echo in the back of her mind, like Jumanji was feeling content with what she had done. The purr was so calming that Judy almost made the noise aloud, but caught herself just in time and resumed eating.

So, what was _that_ all about?" Peter asked as they left the cafeteria when the bell rang.

"I'm not sure" Judy admitted, glancing back to where Evan was speaking with a group of people, mostly girls, including Cecelia. Two girls noticed Judy looking at them and shot her fierce glares. Judy smiled and shook her head as she followed her brother. "But I think that was just round 1" She added, as she felt a flare of energy in her chest and felt her fingers curl int claw shapes, almost on reflex.

* * *

**So, what do you think so far? **


	11. Chapter 11- Overcome

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 10**

_This time!_ Judy thought to herself as she faced off against a Manji warrior. _This time, I will win!_ She growled, twirling her staff, feeling the thick wood pass over the width of her hand. Across from her, the Manji warrior chirped a challenge and Judy hissed in response, settling into a crouch, her muscles tensing.

"Go for it, Jude!" Peter cheered in Manji from the sidelines. Some of the Manji around him hooted their support as well, but most of them were supporting their own comrade. A few even criticized her, making her hiss inn annoyance, baring her sharpened teeth. Peter fought back the urge to flinch. Judy looked pretty fearsome at the moment, "What happened to my sister_?"_ He asked himself aloud, keeping his voice low. Even so, he noticed Judy's knuckles clench as he finished talking and cringed, she must have overheard him.

Tribal Bob stepped up to both of them, looked them over, nodded, then clicked in Manji "_Begin!"_ Scarcely had he finished speaking when Judy lunged at the Manji, who quickly sidestepped, causing Judy to land flat on her face. The surrounding Manji hooted with laughter as Judy spun onto her back and flipped to her feet, taking advantage of the monkey-like agility the temple had given her. The Manji pointed his spear at her and planed his feet in the ground, bracing for her next attack. Judy growled and charged, twirling her staff as she did, trying to sweep the Manji's feet out from under him, but the Manji jumped at the last second and the staff passed harmlessly beneath him. At the same time, he thrust his spear forward and Judy just barely dodged the sharp stone point. Thinking, quickly, Judy flipped backwards as the Manji came back down, avoiding another spear-thrust.

_This isn't working!_ Judy snarled in her mind as she and the Manji circled each other. _It's like he knows my attacks before I know them!_ She charged forward again, swinging this time to make contact, but the Manji simply blocked her staff with the butt end of his spear, spun it like a propeller, and then trust the point at her in rapid succession, forcing Judy to constantly block with her staff, but she could feel the point prick her arm and felt a warm trickle begin to slide along her skin. The Manji surrounding them shrieked in apparent delight and her opponent looked pleased with himself. Oh, his masked face betrayed no expression, but Judy could tell he was pleased.

"Come on Jude, you've got this!" Peter yelled in Manji as Judy backpedaled a few steps and caught her breath. The Manji cheered and her opponent leveled his spear at her and braced his feet, standing like a pike-man at attention, waiting. Judy frowned, then stepped forwards. The Manji 's mask-eyes darted down towards her feet. She stepped forward again, raising her staff and the Manji raised his spear as if to block her. _Reflexes!_ Judy realized , then she smiled. _Okay, predict this!_ Judy took a deep breath, then raised her staff and charged, holding her hands up high, leaving her chest unprotected. Sure enough, the Manji countered by raising the butt end of his spear high the counter he staff and pointing the pointed end towards her exposed chest. Judy swung her staff, and the Manji blocked it, but the second Judy felt her staff strike the spear, she jumped, leaping gracefully over the Manji's head. As she twisted in the air, she pushed hard on her staff, which twisted with her, causing the spear to drop from the Manji's hands. Bracing herself, Judy landed nimbly on her feet and swung her staff in an arc. The wood collided with the Manji before he had time to react and he fell heavily on his chest. As he structured to get up, Judy pivoted and lunged, falling on top to he Manji, pinning him down. "You lose" She hissed in the Manji's ear and he stopped trying to get up. The clearing was quiet, then it exploded. The Manji cheered again, waving their spears and bows in the air. This time, Judy could sense the respect in their voices and she knew that they were cheering for her. As she rose to her feet, she locked eyes with Tribal Bob, who nodded respectively. "Judy! You did it!" Peter appeared at her side and gave her a good-nature slap on the shoulder.

As Judy smiled at her brother, she felt the tattoo on her hand flare up. _"Well done, my daughter."_ A voice growled in her mind and she felt a rush of extreme content flood through her. Jumanji seemed pleased too. Just sensed eyes on her and glanced up in time to see a tattered cloak disappear into the shadows of an overhanging tree. She smiled.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Peter asked, scanning the trees where Judy was looking.

"Oh, nothing" Judy replied, smiling widely as she felt someone tug her sleeve. Turning, she saw her fallen opponent standing behind her. "Yes?" She asked, suddenly feeling on guard, her grip tightened on her war staff, in case he was plotting revenge.

Instead, the warrior bowed low before Judy and said. _"Honor to lose to you, sister of Manji"_

"Honor to face you" Judy replied, bowing herself, but inside she was surprised. The Manji had never complimented her like this before. Sure they said she was a good warrior, but compliments like the one she had received were geared more towards Peter, who the tribe had seemed to accept and treat like a brother. Judy wasn't sure if this was because h had actually joined the Manji tribe at one point, or if he was just more naturally connected to Jumanji than she was.

"_He is correct"_ Tribal Bob stepped forward. He looked at Judy with pride in his eyes. For a second, Judy thought he looked like a proud father. "_You are truly, sister of the Manji."_ He said and nodded respectively. The Manji hooted gleefully and began dancing in celebration. Judy laughed as Peter joined in the dance. He looked so ridiculous! Then Tribal Bob turned to her and motioned for her to take part. Judy opened her mouth to protest, but as she did, she felt a sudden rush of energy replace the feeling of tranquility that still lingered. Smiling, she felt her feet move and before she knew it, she was dancing along with the Manji warriors, who trilled happily. Judy threw her hands up into the air and gave a cry of victory. The Manji copied her and danced with greater speed, Peter and Judy along with them. Judy danced like she had never danced before, and the hours seemed to pass. She never seemed to grow tired, even though she could see the Manji alongside her beginning to falter. She glanced up at Peter as one by one, the Manji began the leave the fire that they had been dancing around. In the darkening light, Peter's spot-covered face was difficult to make out as he danced, but she could see his green eyes glowing with excitement, and that filled her with the same feeling. She felt that, just for once, she wished she could remain in Jumanji, remain in this feeling, forever.

_"You can!"_ The spirit's voice echoed in her mind and, despite her feeling, Judy felt a frown cross her face when she realized the spirit had been reading her thoughts. _"You are a true player, you are a part of Jumanji, and Jumanji is now a part of you"_ The spirit hissed.

"Does that mean Jumanji can read my mind?" Judy hissed in a low tone. The spirit didn't answer, but Judy heard it chuckled to itself and her frown faded into a smile and she resumed dancing with a renewed vigor.

* * *

"Way to go, Jude!" Peter cheered when they finally left Jumanji for the evening. "You finally won!"

"Yeah, _finally!"_ Judy emphasized the last word, but she still felt really good inside.

"Quit being so modest" Peter nudged her as they hid the game and headed downstairs. "You earned that victory. Pretty soon, you'll be winning fights left, and right!"

"Like _you've_ been doing?" Judy nudged her brother back. "I don't think you've lost a fight yet. Who knows, maybe I'll be the first to beat you" She teased, laughing as Peter's jaw dropped.

"Ha Ha. Yeah right!" He exclaimed as they emerged on the landing and he turned to shut the attic door. "After one win, I don't think so!"

"Hey guys!" Peter and Judy jumped and spun around. Alan was standing behind them wearing his black-and-white Sir-Save-A-Lot uniform. He looked tired, but he smiled warmly at them. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh, nothing special." Peter replied, glancing up at the ceiling and crossing his fingers behind his back. Judy fought the urge to laugh. His tone was not convincing at all.

Alan noticed it too. "Oh really?" He pushed, stepping up to them, throwing his jacket over his shoulder. "And what does 'nothing' involve?"

"Actually, we were just looking through the attic" Judy replied, giving Alan a big smile. "We were trying to see if there were any other games up there, ones that _didn't_ suck you into a hostile jungle world where everything tries to kill you." As Judy was talking, he raised her hands to aid in her expression and Alan's eyes suddenly widened. Quick as lightning, he grabbed Judy's marked hand and pulled it closer to his face.

"Alan, what are you doing?" Peter exclaimed

"Hey stop! That hurts!" Judy cried out, trying to pull away.

Alan ignored the both of them. "What is this?" He demanded, pointing to the tattoo mark on Judy's hand.

* * *

**Uh oh! Looks like Judy's busted! Or is she? **

**Stay tuned to see how Judy gets out of this one!**


	12. Chapter 12- Invitation

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 11**

"What is this?" Alan demanded, twisting Judy's wrist slightly so that it hurt. Judy stared back at him, her mind frozen, her mouth open and useless.

"_What is this?!"_ Alan repeated, his tone more serious.

"It looks like Judy's hand to me, Alan" Peter joked, coming to Judy's rescue. Judy snorted despite herself.

Alan didn't laugh. "I meant what's this _on_ her hand?" He gestured to the marks. Judy fought the urge to let her jaw drop. _He can see them?_ She thought in surprise. _But I thought Peter and I were the only ones who could see the tattoos!_

_The marks are invisible to all._ The spirit whispered in Judy's ear _Save those who have entered Jumanji before_.

_Oh great!_ Judy moaned, though she was careful to keep her

Peter narrowed his eyes and gazed at Judy's hand, squinting as if trying to see something. "I don't see anything on her hand, Alan" He finally said.

Judy realized what Peter was trying to do and gazed at her hand as if studying it really closely. "Me neither, are you _sure_ there's something there, Alan?"

"Don't lie to me!" Alan demanded, and Judy noticed fear creep into his eyes as he glanced at the markings again. "Where did you get this?"

"Get what?" Aunt Nora's voice rang out as she appeared on the landing. Her eyes widened "Alan!_ What_ are you doing to Judy?"

"Aunt Nora help!" Judy screamed, trying to pull away.

"Alan! What has gotten into you?" Nora demanded, marching up to them.

"That!" Alan gestured to the mark on Judy's arm. Nora looked, but Judy tell by her face that she didn't see anything.

"What?" Nora demanded. "There's nothing there!"

"That's just what _I_ was telling him!" Judy exclaimed, pouncing on the opportunity. "Let me go!"

"Alan!" Nora crossed her arms and lowered her voice dangerously. Alan, seeing that he was outnumbered, saw reason and let go.

"Sorry Judy" He said, looking embarrassed, then yawned. "I haven't been sleeping well, and I guess I...saw things. I think I'll go lie down" With that, he stumbled off towards the guest room that Aunt Nora had prepared for him.

"Are you okay, Judy?" Aunt Nora asked, placing a hand on Judy's shoulder.

"I'm fine" Judy replied, feeling her heart rate begin to slow. "What happened to him?" Judy knew perfectly well what had happened to him, but she felt like it was better to ask.

"I'm not sure" Nora answered, and she looked concerned. "He's been acting strange for a while now. He keeps muttering the same word, over and over. Jumanji" Nora's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, wasn't there a game up in the attic with that name?"

Judy and Peter glanced at each other. "Um...I think so, but I think you sold it" Judy answered quickly, remembering their battle with Miss Desmona.

Nora looked confused, but finally nodded. "Right, I remember now" She said simply. "Anyway, I have some exciting news for you"

"You've invited Air Nizzer here of my Birthday?" Peter asked, making everyone stare at him. "What? He's so cool!"

"Okay one, your birthday isn't for three months yet" Nora reminded him, looking slightly amused. "And two, who is Air Nizzer?"

"Never mind that" Judy cut in as Peter opened his mouth for what she assumed would be a long-winded explanation on the 'coolness' of a TV hero. "What's this exciting news, Aunt Nora?"

Nora cleared her throat, and Judy caught an excited gleam in her eyes. "Well, there is going to be a very big, _very important_ event being held here tomorrow evening."

"What kind of event?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow. It was rare that they saw Nora get this excited.

"A masked ball!" Nora exclaimed, throwing her hands wide, a wide smile freaking on her face. "The real deal, with masks and gowns, and everything! A group of businessmen want to hold one here for charity, they've promised to cover everything, and they've invited most of the town!

"That's-that's wonderful!" Judy smiled, her eyes lighting up. Peter smiled too, but his smile seemed forced.

"Yeah, sounds like fun. Let me know how it turns out" He snorted and turned to leave.

"Oh there's one more thing, Peter" Nora's voice made Peter freeze in his tracks.

"Of course there is" Judy heard Peter mutter under his breath and fought to suppress a giggle.

"I'm going to need the two of you to help me host the event!" Nora explained

"What?" Peter spun around, looking horrified, causing Nora to laugh.

Judy felt her smile widen as she imagined the house full of people wearing masks and glittering gowns and sharp suits, then she paused and frowned. "But, Aunt Nora" She said, feeling tension wrap around her stomach. "I don't have anything to wear to an event like that!"

Nora's eyes twinkled. "Don't worry, Judy. The men who rented the house also offered to fit outfits for all three of us to wear for the event."

"Oh great! Now I gotta wear some monkey suit for an evening in front of all my friends!" Peter groaned. "Man! This blows!" He sulked away, causing Nora and Judy to laugh.

"Which reminds me, Judy" Nora said. "Your fitting appointments are scheduled for after school tomorrow. I'll be busy handling the decorating of the house, I'm relying on you and Peter to get to the shop by yourselves. Got it?"

"Got it" Judy smiled as she watched Nora turn and walk back downstairs, humming to herself. "A masked ball" She smiled and her eyes glazed over as she imagined what it would be like. "I can't wait" She giggled to herself and headed back to her room.

Judy wasn't the only one excited, the next morning the whole school was buzzing with excitement about the event.

"It's gonna be so amazing!" One girl squealed to her friends as Peter and Judy passed on their way to class.

"I know! I wish I was going" One of her friends sighed, looking _very_ disappointed. "But my family already has plans tonight!

"Just as well I can't go!" A third one snapped, making Judy paused. "All the clothing stores in town are nearly sold out of dresses, there probably won't be anything good left by now!"

As Judy walked away, she felt her heart sink a little. She would be getting a glorious new dress, while the rest of the girls would be struggling to find anything they deemed appropriate. _Good thing this is a masked ball_. She thought to herself. _I'm not sure I want to be seen in a new dress right now_

"Tsst! Listen to them" Peter chortled, snapping Judy out of her thoughts. "They're talking about how they've got nothing to wear! How weird can you get?!"

"Peter!" Judy grabbed his arm "Don't be rude. This may not matter to you, but girls happen to care a lot about how they look. If you ever want a girlfriend, you'll need to understand that!"

"Sstt!" Peter snorted. "Like I'd ever want a..."

"Hola Peter. Hola Judy" Peter and Judy turned to see a pretty Latino girl with dark brown hair standing a few feet away from them

"Hi Maria" Judy waved. When Peter didn't say anything she glanced down at him and saw a red tinge appear on his cheek. She smirked, then looked up. "Hey Maria, did you hear about the masked ball happening tonight?" She asked.

"_Jude!"_ Peter growled, glaring at her, but Maria's eyes lit up.

"Of course!" She nodded. "My papa and I will be helping with the catering for the event! Will you be there?"

"Oh, we'll _definitely_ be there, right Peter?" She smiled, nudging her brother, who nodded.

"Cool!" Maria smiled as the bell rang. "Well, see you later!" She turned and dashed down the hall.

"Thanks a lot, Jude!" Peter growled as they headed to class.

"What? I was just trying to help." Judy defended herself, then smiled as she added "Besides, some girls might like a guy in a 'monkey suit'" She giggled.

Peter folded his arms and frowned, then his face softened as he thought about it. "You-you think so?"

"Yep" Judy nodded. "I'd definitely think so" She smiled as she left Peter to enter math class. Taking a seat, she stared out the window, daydreaming about what would be happening in a couple hours.

* * *

**Adventure and romance? Unusual combination, don't you think? **

**What DO you think? Please let me know!**


	13. Chapter 13- Hesitation

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 12**

"It's-It's beautiful!" Judy gasped as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. The sky-blue empire-style dress she was wearing seemed to gleam under the lights of the shop.

"Yes" The shopkeeper agreed as he straightened the hem slightly as Judy twisted and turned in the mirror, trying to see how well it looked in the back. "I think this is the perfect color for you." Judy nodded, she was so in awe she could barely speak.

_I can't wait for my friends to see me like this!_ Judy thought to herself, almost giddy with happiness as she slipped behind a curtain to change back into regular clothes. She changed slowly, being extra careful when handling the dress. She didn't want to rip it, though she was sure the shopkeeper would easily be able to fix it if she did. She just didn't want to take that chance.

When she stepped out from behind the curtain, the shopkeeper was busy fitting a stunning white gown onto Cecelia Rivers. Noticing Judy, he motioned towards a couch, instructing her to wait a few minutes. As Judy sat down, she noticed the girl studying her in the mirror, a frown on her face, and she automatically sat up straighter.

"Have we met before?" The girl finally spoke. "You look familiar"

"Cecelia, I'm Judy Shepard. We go to the same school. We're in two of the same classes" Judy reminded her, feeling somewhat annoyed. Maybe it was the sneer on Cecelia's face, but she felt a flush of anger begin to creep under her skin and had to fight the urge to growl like a tiger.

"Oh yes, Now I remember you" Cecelia said suddenly. "You're Peter's sister, aren't you?"

_'Peter's sister?'_ Judy felt a frown cross her face at Cecelia's tone, especially the last two words, but chose to ignore the jab and nodded. "Yep That's me"

Just then, one of the shopkeeper's assistants came forward with Judy's dress on a hanger, wrapped in a clear garment bag. Judy's frown faded in a smile as she eyed the dress and Cecelia, who had glanced away, looked up, and her eyes visibly widened in surprise.

The shopkeeper, noticing the movement, followed her eyes and smiled. "Like I said miss, that is the perfect color for you" He stated, nodding at Judy in the mirror.

"Wait, that dress is for _you?"_ Cecelia stammered, clearly surprised.

"Yeah" Judy raised an eyebrow, surprised by the abrupt tone of Cecelia's statement.

Cecelia twisted her head around for a better look. She seemed to scan the dress and her jaw dropped. "No way" She muttered aloud before glancing down at the shopkeeper. "Is that an original design from Suzy Bleu?" She demanded.

The shopkeeper's grin widened. "Indeed. You have a good eye, miss. In fact, I believe that dress was hand-crafted by Miss Bleu herself". He addressed Cecelia, who looked stunned.

Judy gasped and stared down at the garment in her hand. She didn't know much about fashion, but even _she_ knew Suzy Bleu, the famous fashion designer. Her hand started to tremble as she gazed at the dress. Now that she knew who had made it, that a woman who was known all over the world had taken time out to make this dress herself, it suddenly looked ten times more beautiful.

"Huh" Cecelia recovered quickly. "Well, I hope you have a few millions in your wallet, Judy Shepard, because those dresses cost a mint!" She smiled at those last words as if this was all some lie or illusion that would shatter when faced with simple truth.

The shopkeeper must have seen the panic in Judy's face, because he chuckled. "You don't need to worry miss, it's paid for. Your aunt stopped by earlier for her own fitting and took care of everything." He winked at Judy in the mirror. "Miss Bleu outdid herself with the dresses for the two of you, in my opinion. Well, that should do it, Miss Cecelia." He turned back to Cecelia, who was standing stock still on the stool, looking like she had just been hit in the face. Judy couldn't blame her, she felt stunned herself. _Who are these people?_ She wondered, resolving to ask Aunt Nora more when she got home.

"Miss?" The shopkeeper reached up and gently tapped Cecelia on the shoulder. The girl started and blinked rapidly, as if waking up from a trance. "You'e finished, Miss Cecelia" He said, and Cecelia stepped off the stool, looking enviously at the dress in Judy's hand.

"You know, your dress looks amazing as well" Judy said, trying to change the subject. She wasn't wrong, Cecelia's dress looked stunning with its Ivory-white lace and cream accents, it looked like it had been spun from beams of white light.

Cecelia glanced down at her dress, then sighed, sounding disappointed. "I _guess_" She finally said, shrugging her shoulders. "But..." She gazed at Judy's dress again, a longing look in her eyes. "It's not a Suzy Bleu design." She sighed dramatically.

Judy was feeling rather uncomfortable and decided to end things now. "Well, it was great talking to you, but I've really got to go"

"Oh, okay. Will I see you at the Parrish Place tonight?" Cecelia asked.

"Oh yeah, I'll _definitely _ be there" Judy replied as one of the shopkeeper's assistants placed the dress in a box and handed it to her. Just then, Peter walked out from another area of the store, a boy under one arm and a smile on his face. A smile he quickly wiped off when he saw Judy and Cecelia standing there.

"Well, how'd yours turn out?" Judy asked, smiling herself.

"Not too bad, actually" Peter admitted. "I like it"

Judy's eyes widened. "Really? That's a first!" She snorted, causing Peter to frown.

"I'm glad you are both satisfied. Like I told you, Miss Bleu worked hard on your outfits" The shopkeeper spoke up. Cecelia's jaw dropped again and Judy eyes darted to the box in Peter's hands. _His too?_ She thought, her mind whirring. _This is getting crazy!_

"Well, I wish there was a way we could thank Miss Bleu for all she's done" Judy said aloud. Cecelia snorted and rolled her eyes.

"You can thank her yourself. I believe she's planning to attend the ball tonight" The shopkeeper's response made Judy and Cecelia gasp simultaneously and Judy almost lost her hold on the box.

"Jude? Are you okay?" Peter asked while the shopkeeper laughed aloud. Judy didn't say anything, she just stood there, mutely. "Whoops! I think her brain short circuited. We'd better get her home" With that, Peter steered Judy towards the door.

"Have a pleasant evening!" The shopkeeper called, and waved as they exited. Peter waved back and Judy snapped out of her daze long enough to smile and nod her thanks.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Peter asked as they walked down the street.

"Peter. You _know_ how much I love Suzy Bleu's designs!" Judy snapped, suddenly feeling irritable about how calm her brother seemed. Judy felt like hundreds of spiders were crawling up her arms and legs. "And now, to actually wear a dress that she herself worked on..." Her voice broke off and she glanced down again at the box in her hands.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "But I hardly ever see you in dresses." he argued. "I thought you preferred jeans and overalls."

"Just because I'm a tomboy doesn't mean I don't like dressy clothes!" Judy snapped, then realized what she had said and blushed. "You know what I mean!" She stammered, seeing a cheeky grin appear on Peter's face.

"Oh yeah, of course" Peter droned in a mocking tone, accelerating his walking pace before Judy could come up with a comeback.

* * *

"A Suzy Bleu design? Really?" Judy demanded, placing the dress box on the kitchen counter before turning to face Aunt Nora, who glanced up from her papers. An embarrassed smile appeared on her face.

"You should have seen Jude at the shop when she found out! I swear she was gonna totally lose it!" Peter laughed from the window, then dodged when Judy threw a candy bar at his head.

"I know you you feel Judy, I was surprised too." Nora confessed. "But the people who are throwing this party insisted. They're sparing no expense."

Judy shifted uncomfortably, and Aunt Nora noticed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm-I'm just not used to such treatment." Judy admitted.

Nora sighed and shook her head. "I understand Judy. But I doubt it will last long. After the party tonight, I suspect things will go back to normal." They both winced as a loud whine from a drill emanated from outside.

"Look at 'em, scurrying around out there. They remind me of bees, or ants." Peter commented from the window. Judy glanced outside to see a group of workers rigging a makeshift dance floor in the bay yard, which had been cleared of weeds. A dark-skinned man was planting hundreds of flowers everywhere. Several men were setting up a metal frame to hold lights. Stewards, some already wearing crisp white jackets, were rushing around carrying trays, some with food, some with cutlery. In the center of the makeshift floor, Alan was in an animated discussion with a tall silver-haired man with a thin face and a short white beard. A large German Shepard lay at the other man's feet, gazing up almost lazily at the two men. From what Judy could see, Alan and the man both seemed happy to see each other, a fact emphasized when Alan and the man suddenly hugged each other.

"Aunt Nora, who is that out there with Alan?" Nora put down her papers and joined Judy and Peter at the window.

A confused frown appeared on her face. "His name's Sam. He arrived this morning after you and Peter had left for school. I've seen him around town a couple times." Her frown deepened. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear he and Alan were lifelong friends." She murmured aloud.

Judy opened her mouth to answer when suddenly the tattoo on her arm flushed with heat. Judy slapped her hand over it, a reflex. Nora glanced up at the sound, her gaze found Judy, and rested on her hand. She cocked an eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

"Uh, nothing" Judy replied, looking away towards the door as the sound of drums reached her ears.

"_Come!"_ A voice hissed in her mind and she felt Peter stiffen beside her. Just then, Alan appeared in the kitchen doorway. His gaze flickered over the kids, and rested on Judy's tattoo and his eyes seemed to flash angrily.

"Nora, the conductor for the nine piece band just arrived and he was wondering where they should set up." He announced, still glancing at Judy's arm.

"Already?" Nora glanced at her watch. "The ball doesn't start for three hours." She headed towards the door, paused, then turned back towards the kids. "Why don't you two go play in your rooms for a little while? We probably shouldn't get in the way of the people working. Alan and I will come get you when we need you downstairs to help greet guests."

"Sure!" Peter and Judy nodded, grabbing their boxes and heading for the door. As they passed Alan, he smiled at them, but Judy suddenly felt a wave of coldness as she glanced up at him. Curious, she paused just outside the door.

"Okay Alan, I saw that look, what's going on?" Nora demanded, her tone hardening.

Alan sighed. "I'm sorry, It's just, I swear I keep seeing some kind of mark on Judy's arm, but she claims she can't see anything"

"You mean those tiger stripes?" Nora's question made Judy gasp aloud.

"Wait, you _saw_ those?" Alan exclaimed. "But earlier you said..."

"Yes." Nora interrupted him. "I saw the marks, but I'm sure its nothing to worry about. She'll have gloves on during the event, so no one else is likely to notice them."

"Yeah, but its where they came from that I want to know" Alan argued.

"Shhh" Nora soothed. "I'm sure they're nothing to worry about. She would have told us if they were a problem. Besides..." Nora paused, than giggled. "There are worse things that she could get, like a big pimple in the center of her forehead. I had that happen right before a big formal event once. Ugghhh! How embarrassing!"

"Okay, you got a point there!" Alan laughed. Judy, having heard enough, turned and quietly made her way up the main staircase.

_She can see the marks too?_ Judy thought to herself, than froze on the stairway. _Of course! She's been to Jumanji before!_ Memories of Nora fighting the Jamazon queen flashed through her mind and she smiled as the thought. _But...why would she say otherwise?_ She wondered.

"Jude!" Judy glanced up to see Peter staring down at her from the landing above. "Hurry up!" As soon as Peter spoke, Judy's ears were assaulted with a fresh wave of drumming that was almost deafening. Growling in annoyance, Judy raced up the steps to her room, placed the box on her bed, then followed Peter to the attic, her mind still reeling over what she had just overheard.

* * *

**FYI, Suzy Bleu is a nod to Stacy Blu, one of the creators of the Jumanji Animated Series Show.**

**So Nora CAN see the kids marks? This may complicate things!**

**Let me know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14- Masquerade

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 13**

Judy gulped nervously, reaching up almost unconsciously to straighten her hair, only for Nora to gently grab her hand and force it down.

"You look fine Judy, trust me" She soothed, flashing a big smile.

"A-are you sure?" Judy stammered, glancing at the ruby red gown that Nora was wearing. The dress was similar to Judy's, except that it was sleeveless and tighter around the chest than her own, which had short sleeves and felt like a bulky cocoon of silk and lace. Nora's dress was so beautiful that it made Judy's own dress feel common by comparison.

Nora saw Judy looking. "I'm sure" She smiled and gently ran her fingers down Judy's hair, which had been combed out until it flowed like a golden river. Judy sighed and stared down at her hands, which were both encased in silky blue-white gloves that ran up to her elbows. She shifted, and her feet, which were stuck in heeled shoes, ached in protest. Judy felt a grin cross her face as she imagined herself trying to run through the jungle in this costume, she would not get very far. "That's it, no need to be nervous" Nora beamed.

"Easy for you to say" Peter muttered at Judy's side. Judy had to admit, her little brother looked very sharp in his black tuxedo, he had even combed his hair back, gelling it to keep it flat against his head.

"You know, with your hair flat against your head like that, you look shorter" Judy teased.

Peter glared at her. "Very funny. How're your feet doing?" Judy felt her grin evaporate and now Peter smiled. "First time in high heels, huh?" He teased.

"_You_ try walking in these" Judy leaned against the railing and lifted the hem of her dress to reveal the three inch heels her feet were stuffed into. "Aunt Nora, do I have to wear these?"

"Yes, you do" Nora replied with the air of someone who had been repeating herself and was quickly growing tired of it. "They came with the outfit, chosen by Suzy Bleu herself. Most girls would die to wear them"

"Most girls are probably used to walking on their tiptoes by now" Peter chortled in silent laughter. Judy growled and raised a hand to smack him when Nora reached out and grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip. Her other hand grasped Peter firmly on the shoulder.

"This is a very important night" She told them firmly. "And I will _not_ have it spoiled by the two of you fighting. Is...that...clear?" She emphasized the last phrase by giving each of them a stern look.

"Clear" Peter and Judy chorused together. Nora nodded and released them. As Judy rubbed her wrist, Alan appeared below them, wearing a Khaki suit and a silver tie.

"Everybody ready?" He called up, smiling at them. His eyes widened as he noticed Judy and Nora. "Wow!" he exclaimed.

"Wow? Is that _all_ you can say?" Nora teased as she began to make her way down the stairs.

"Hey! I'm practically...speechless right now!" Alan protested, making Nora smile and Peter and Judy giggle.

"Well, then I _guess_ I can let it slide..._this_ time" Nora decided as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She ran red-gloved hand along Alan's shoulder. Peter wolf whistled and covered her mouth to smother her laughter as she watched Alan's eyes light up at the gesture. "Come on you two! The first guests will be arriving shortly!" Nora called up as she selected a bright red domino mask adorned with red sequins from the foursome that Alan clutched in his hands. "Come get your masks, then I want you to help greet guests in the front hall!"

"Coming!" Peter charged down the stairs and eagerly snapped up the black mask that Alan offered him. Judy made her way slowly down the stairs, trying not to trip in her heeled shoes. Alan chuckled as he watched.

"First time in high heels?" He asked when Judy finally made it to the bottom of the staircase.

"Is it that obvious?" Judy stumbled on her feet.

"Well, if it's any consolation. I think you look fantastic" Alan smiled warmly at her and help out a beautiful blue mask for her.

"Thanks Alan" Judy smiled back as she slipped the mask onto her face and tied the white ribbon behind he head. Peering through the eye holes, she saw Alan slip on a sand-colored mask that went very well with his jacket.

"Jude! C'mon!" Peter called from the door.

"Coming!" Judy turned to mince her way over to the door, but Alan's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Listen Judy. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did about those marks on your hand. I guess I took the loss of Jumanji harder than I thought." The sincerely of Alan's apology made Judy wince.

"That's okay" Judy smiled back up at Alan. "You were trapped in Jumanji for at least 20 years. I can only imagine what you've seen." _And what Peter and I may see_ She thought to herself as she moved to go stand by Peter at the door as the bell rang.

* * *

An hour later, the house was practically packed and the party was in full swing. A string quartet was playing slow waltz music in one corner of the dining room, which had been converted into a ballroom, and men and women in glittering gowns and snappy suits pranced and twirled in time with the music.

"Cool beans! These look great!" Peter exclaimed from the buffet table, and began snapping up little hot dogs from one of the trays. Hearing him Judy glanced over from where she had been talking with some other girls nearby. She snorted and shook her head.

"Isn't that your brother?" One of the girls asked.

"Don't remind me. I try to forget it every day" Judy joked, making the other girls laugh.

"Hello ladies" A smooth voice cut through the chatter.

_Oh no!_ Judy groaned mentally as she saw the girl facing her almost swoon. All the girls were suddenly staring behind her, eyes glazed. Many of them had their jaws agape. Sighing, she turned to face Evan Mills, wearing a dark green suit-coat and matching mask.

Evan's eyes widened. "Judy? Is that you? I hardly recognized you! You look amazing!" He gave a big smile.

Judy gasped, but not because she was taken by his comments, it was because the color of his jacket looked familiar. Her mind suddenly flashed back to the nightmare she had had the night they freed Alan from Jumanji, about Van Pelt shooting two newcomers in Jumanji. One of them had a suit-coat the exact same shade as Evan's!

Even smiled at Judy's reaction, thinking it was due to his comments. Giving a bow, he asked "Would you do me the honor of having this dance?"

Inside Judy's head, a war of emotions played out in her mind. On one side, her common sense was repulsed at the thought of dancing with him, but at the same time the image of Evan lying on the jungle floor in a pool of blood was proving impossible to remove from her mind. _If Evan is one of the people I saw in my dreams, then I need to make sue he doesn't find Jumanji,_ she realized, then fought the urge to grimace as she realized that the easiest way to do that was to...spend time with him. Forcing a smile upon her face, she curtsied lightly and replied "Of course, I would love to"

Evan's face lit up and he seized her hand and headed out to the dance floor before she could say another word. He placed his hands around her waist and Judy resisted the urge to shudder. Sighing softly, she placed her hands around his neck, and began to dance with him, staring behind him instead of into his face.

For a while, Even didn't speak, and to her surprise, Judy found herself starting to enjoy it. She spotted Peter speaking with a pretty girl in a green dress. When he saw her, his jaw practically dropped. Judy shook her head warningly and he turned away. Some of the other girls were watching them as well with obvious looks of envy on their faces. One of them actually turned her back when she saw that Judy had noticed them.

"Judy, I've been meaning to ask you something." Evan said after a while.

"What might that be?" Judy asked.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" The question was so surprising that Judy actually stopped dancing and stared at Even, open-mouthed.

"W-what did you say?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Evan repeated, flashing a dazzling smile. Despite herself, Judy felt a flush of color appear on her cheeks.

_He can't be serious!_ Judy's mind yelled, but one look at his face seemed to confirm that he was indeed serious. _Okay, stall! Find out what he wants! _"I-I'm flattered you would ask, but why me?"

"Why not you?" Evan countered smoothly, his green eyes twinkling.

"Well...this isn't the kind of question a girl gets asked right out of the blue. I mean...I hardly know you" Judy stammered

"But _I_ know you, and I'd like to learn more about you. If you'll be willing to share." As even spoke, he moved his arms gently on her waist and Judy suddenly felt a rush of pure bliss pass through her. _Maybe this'll be good after all._ She thought as she sighed happily, leaning her head against his chest. As they moved around the dance floor, Judy spotted Alan watching them, stroking his chin. In the lights from the above, Alan's face seemed different. It looked younger, especially since he had started shaving. He looked different, he looked braver, he looked like...Flint?

Judy felt a flush of heat from the markings on her hand and her mind suddenly seemed to clear, pictures played back in her head about how Flint the sorcerer had praised her appearance and flattered her to no end while at the same time turning Alan and Peter to stone. _Wait! What am I doing? I don't even like this guy!_ Judy stopped dancing and stepped backwards out of Evan's grip.

"Judy, what's wrong?" Evan asked, looking concerned, taking a step forward. But Judy shook her head.

"I'm flattered you would ask me, Evan. But I can't be your girlfriend." Judy said in a firm voice. Before Evan could say anything more, Judy turned and walked of the dance floor, leaving him standing there, speechless.

Judy skirted around the edge of the room, trying to hide from Evan's gaze and found herself near the buffet table. Suddenly realizing how hungry she was, Judy grabbed a plate and began loading food onto it.

"Hola Judy. You look nice" Judy glanced up and saw Maria standing on the opposite side of the table. She was wearing a white uniform, and a matching white mask.

"Hi Maria, thank you" Judy smiled at her. "Hey, have you seen my brother anywhere?"

To her surprise, Maria's smile faded into a frown. "Si, over there" She said rather curtly, pointing towards the dance floor. Turning, Judy saw Peter standing in the very middle of the dance floor, and standing next to him...was Cecelia! The girl looked dazzling in her pure white gown and feathery white mask. As she laughed at one of Peter's jokes, Judy was struck by a vision for the third time that evening, of a girl in a white dress lying face down on the jungle floor. It was Cecelia!

"I know, right!" Maria mused as Judy gasped aloud. "I do not like her either" She frowned at Cecelia. But Judy felt fear flood through her. Evan and Cecelia were the well-dressed people from her nightmare! But that meant...

TUMTUMTUMTUMTUMTUM! Judy covered her mouth to smother her scream as the sound of tribal drums suddenly rang through the room. An the floor, Peter glanced up towards the ceiling, and visibly groaned. Gritting her teeth, Judy started making her way through the crowd towards the doors. As she passed Peter, who had not moved, she gave him a hard nudge and heard him hiss in response.

"Uh Cecelia, I've really enjoyed talking with you, but I've gotta go right now" Peter hurriedly excused himself and followed Judy.

"But Peter...wait! Where are you going?! PETER!" Cecelia's voice rose dramatically as the two left the dance room and made their way into the front hall.

"I tell you, Jumanji has got the worst...timing...ever!" Peter complained as they climbed the stairs.

"Quit complaining! I've been looking for an excuse to leave the party for a while now." Judy replied.

Peter snorted. "Yeah, you looked like you were having a horrible time with Evan Mills"

"As a matter of fact, I was" Judy snapped, feeling her face flush again. By this time, the siblings had reached the landing with the door to the attic. As Judy opened the door, the sound of drums seemed to get even louder. "Come on. You know we can't keep Jumanji waiting"

* * *

**We're reaching the climax of this story folks! That means you can probably expect more frequent updates! Stay tuned, the fun's just starting!**


	15. Chapter 15- Rescue

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 14**

Alan took another sip from his wine glass, gazing around at the guests that were milling around the room and spilling out into the back lawn of the house. The party was going great, though he was getting a little tired of having to repeat his cover story to everyone. He wouldn't tell Peter and Judy, but the name Alan Parish seemed strange to him now. He was definitely not the same boy that rolled into Jumanji over 23 years ago. To the rest of the world, Alan Parrish died the day he entered Jumanji, and he now found that he wanted it to stay that way. He had been telling everyone that he was an actor who was distantly related the Parrish family. He knew enough of the family history that he could pass as a relative, and seeing as how the Parrish family withered away after he had disappeared, the town was delighted to let Alan have his old house back.

"I'll need to start thinking about what I can do to this old place" Alan muttered to himself. "Maybe I can turn it into a bed and breakfast." He smiled at the thought. It was certainly better than leaving the house to fall apart. Alan's smile widened as he spotted Nora chatting with some other local ladies. No matter how many times he saw her in that dress, she looked absolutely stunning. Alan raised his hand and patted his jacket pocket, feeling a small bulge there, which made his excitement level shoot up, but at the same time he felt a trickle of sweat run down his forehead.

"Peter, where are you going? PETER!" A cry made Alan look around. In the middle of the dance floor, a girl in a gleaming white gown was standing stock still. The dancing crowd around her seemed to have paused and many people were glancing towards the doors. Alan looked up just in time to see two figures, one wearing a suit coat and the other wearing a blue dress, slip through the doorway. Peter and Judy. _Now where are they going?_ He wondered, moving to follow them.

"Alan?" Nora's voice stops him. "Where are you going?"

"Peter and Judy just...wow" Alan's voice broke off as he, once again, marveled at how beautiful Nora looked in that red gown.

Nora noticed him looking and blushed. "You were saying something?" She desperately urged.

"Huh? Oh yeah...uh, I just saw Peter and Judy slip out of the room" Alan stammered, trying to get his mind back on the right track.

"Really?" Nora glanced towards the doors "It looks like they're not the only ones" She pointed with a gloved finger. Alan glanced over in time to see the girl in white and a boy wearing a dark green suit coat slip through the doors.

"Hmmm. Something's up" Alan mused. "I think I'll go see what's going on." Alan smiled at Nora, who nodded, then turned to greet another guest while Alan moved through the crowd towards the doors.

* * *

When Peter and Judy reached the attic, the tempo of drums was almost overwhelming. When Peter retrieved the game board from its hiding place, it was vibrating so much he could barely hold onto it.

"Uh..why does the board feel cold?" He asked, glancing at Judy.

Judy frowned, and placed her hand on the board, gasping as an icy chill shot up her arm. "No idea. Let's just get this done." The two siblings placed the board game down and opened it up. Instead of rolling the dice, both siblings placed a hand on the crystal eye in the center, which felt icy cold to the touch.

The eye flashed and they removed their hands to read the message that appeared.

"_People fear what they do not know_

_But it's the only way they'll grow"_ Judy read aloud. "What's that supposed to...mmmeeeeaaaaannnnnn?!" Judy cried out as she and Peter were pulled into the game. As they fell through a vortex of light, Judy and Peter felt their fancy clothes disappear replaced by the clothes that now appeared on them every time they rolled into Jumanji.

The two siblings landed in the middle of a clearing and brushed themselves off. Judy glanced around, but the jungle around them seemed to be calm and peaceful, and this made Judy tense. Her senses were telling her something was not normal. She glanced at Peter, who met her eyes and nodded. Wordlessly, the two siblings separated, branching off into different directions. As Judy ran along a trail that was almost invisible, she was suddenly struck with a strange feeling, almost like deja vu. _What's going on?_ She wondered mentally as she paused, kneeling down to examine some tracks in the damp soil. She growled softly as she recognized the bootmarks, _Van Pelt!_

Almost as soon as Judy had thought this, she heard a click from behind her and felt the hair son the back of her neck stand up. Whirling suddenly, she dove to the ground and rolled, just as a rifle blast filled the air. Judy heard the bullets slam into the spot she had been standing as she rolled to her feet and made a dash for the nearest tree. She heard a _cha-chunk_ as the shotgun was reloaded and after doing two flips, she vaulted into the air, grabbed the lowest hanging branch and swung herself into the thick leaf over just as the rifle went off again. Judy gritted her teeth as the section of branch right below her was reduced to splinter. She sucked in a breath and waited.

For a few moments, all was quiet, then Judy heard a single word, "Blast!" Van Pelt strolled into the clearing, his rifle still smoking and his face red. He gazed into the tree where Judy was hiding, but was unable to see her through the dense foliage. For a few moments, he stood there, staring right at her, yet unable to see her. Then a piercing scream sounded from some distance away. Van Pelt's head whipped around at the sound and he charged towards it, disappearing into the brush. Judy watched him go, but instead of feeling relieved, she felt cold dread flooding her. That scream had sounded human, and strangely familiar.

* * *

Alan paused at the foot of the steps and gazed around the second floor landing. All the doors to the bedrooms were closed. Alan frowned, then walked over to Peter's bedroom and knocked on the door. No answer, he knocked again, then twisted the knob and opened the door, finding the room empty. As he closed the door and turned towards Judy's room, a thud from the attic made him pause. Frowning, he glanced up at the ceiling. "What are they doing up there?" She wondered aloud, then froze as he heard a noise, a very familiar noise. Alan's face paled. "Tribal drums? No! It can't be!" Alan yanked open the door and dashed up the stairs.

Bursting into the attic, Adam scanned the room rapidly, and let out a gasp when he saw the open game board sitting on a crate. "No! No! NO!" Alan screamed, rushing over to the game, and let out a strangled cry when he noticed a pair of masks lying next to it. With shaking fingers, he reached over and picked up the nearest mask and slowly picked it up, staring at the glossy green surface. Alan frowned as his memory clicked, then glance at the other mask on the floor, which was feathery and white. Where had he seen these before? His mind flashed back to the party, he remembered seeing the masks, but couldn't place their faces.

Alan slowly rose to his feet, clutching both masks in his hands. If new children had rolled into Jumanji, they had no idea what they were in for. It was Alan's job to find them and help them. "Maybe I should...?" Alan glanced towards the attic door, wondering if he should go get Peter and Judy. Then the board seemed to shudder and Alan shook his head. There was no time! For all he knew the kids could be in danger right now! Sucking in a breath and clenching his teeth, he reached over with a shaking hand and picked up the dice, jerking his fingers off the board as though it was red hot.

"Okay Jumanji, listen up." Alan's voice shook as he addressed the game. "I'm just going to go in and take back whatever new kids you've swiped, okay. Don't give me any trouble, okay?" The game didn't move or do anything in response, which did nothing to ease Alan's mood. Saying a silent prayer for strength, Alan cast the dice.

* * *

**Hey guys! As you may know, this story is on the shelf right now and I'm not sure when I'll be picking it up again, so I thought I'd present what I've written since last time I updated.**

**Stay with me! I'll pick this up again eventually! Count on it! **

**Until next time!**


	16. Chapter 16- Hunter

Tang Ri Shan

Are You Game?

**Chapter 15**

"WHERE ARE WE?"

"HOW WOULD _I_ KNOW?"

Judy's eyes narrowed as a pair of human voices screeched through the jungle, followed by the sounds of scurrying, stumbling, and the occasional scream.

"Those voices..." She mused aloud. "Where have I...?"

"Jude!" The leaves above her rustled and Peter appeared on another branch. "Did you hear those voices?"

"Yeah. I heard them" Judy nodded

Peter looked worried. "You don't think that...?"

"I don't know" Judy shook her head, then leapt off her branch. "Let's find out!" She called over her shoulder as she raced away towards where the voices were coming from. She could hear Peter moving silently behind her as she dodged quietly around tree trunks and slipped noiselessly through the foliage. Suddenly she came to a stop and bent down to examine something on the ground.

"What is it?" Peter clicked in Manji, kneeling down to examine the game trail in front of them.

"Imprints" Judy clicked back. "From a high-heeled shoe" She added, frowning, her mind flashing back to her dream. It was at about this point when she had heard...

BANG! The gunshot sounded unusually loud, or maybe it was because the jungle had suddenly gotten very very quiet.

"Jude!" Peter hissed beside her, his face suddenly full of tension. "This happened in my dreams!"

"Mine too" Judy replied. "Come on!" She darted down the trail with Peter right on her heels.

"RUN!"

"I AM RUNNING!"

Judy eyes widened as she recognized the lines from her dreams. Now she was _sure_ that dream was some kind of vision of the future. And if that was the case...Judy accelerated, as did Peter beside her. The two siblings followed the trail until it reached a clearing, but both stopped just short of emerging into it. Hugging the tree line, the siblings peeked around the trunks and gazed into the clearing. Van Pelt was there, just as they had expected, his smoking rifle in his hands, and cowering before him were...

"Cecelia and Evan?" Judy hissed in surprise. "What are _they_ doing here?"

Peter didn't reply right away, but as he gazed at them, a sudden thought struck him. "I bet they must have followed us upstairs." He hissed back.

"Why?"

"Probably to find out what we were up to" Peter reasoned.

Judy hissed with frustration. "Figures" Both siblings gazed back out towards the clearing as the heard Van Pelt's rifle click. He was aiming it at the two teens. Cecelia was whimpering and literally shaking with fear, while Evan was standing in front of her, looking equally nervous.

"N-now look sir, c-can't we just t-t-talk about this?" Even stammered.

Van Pelt snorted. "We just did" He said calmly, taking aim.

"Jude, we've gotta do something!" Peter hissed.

Judy glanced at him with wide eyes. "But what if they recognize us?"

Peter glanced at her like she was crazy. "Jude, _I_ don't recognize us!" He growled. "As long as we act like we belong in Jumanji, I don't think we'll have any problem with them."

Judy nodded. "Ok. I'll distract him, you try to disarm him. Just remember, if we have to talk,_ only_ speak in Manji." She cautioned.

Peter nodded and slipped silently through the foliage. Judy turned back towards the clearing where a grisly murder scene was about to unfold. _Oh no!_ She thought to herself. _That may have happened in my dreams, but it's not gonna happen now!_ Taking a deep breath, she deliberately rattled the branches of the bush she was crouched behind and screeched loudly.

* * *

Peter tensed as he heard Judy's cry from across the clearing. It sounded like a cross between a girl's scream and a bird's call. As expected, Van Pelt paused, and then spun towards the sound of rustling leaves and fired off into the jungle. On his knees behind a bush at the other end of the clearing, Peter growled and crept forward, relying on the noise Judy was making to mask his own noise. Luckily, there was sufficient undergrowth in the clearing and he began crawling forwards through the grass on his belly. He couldn't see Van Pelt from his new position, and he didn't dare risk peeking over the grass for fear of Van Pelt seeing him. Luckily, he had other senses he could rely on. Closing his eyes, he listened to Judy's hissing and waving of branches and bushes, the sound of Van Pelt reloading and shooting his gun, the quiet sounds of Cecelia whimpering in fear. He inhaled through his nose, registering the acrid smell of gunpowder and the rather strong aroma of Cecelia's perfume. All these combined to form a picture of his surroundings in his mind, as clear as if he could actually see it allowing Peter to continue to confidently crawl forwards until he was literally in Van Pelt's shadow. Slowly, he crouched, his muscles tense. Judy had stopped hissing and now Van Pelt seemed to be frozen, listening to the silence around them.

"I-is it gone?" Peter heard Cecelia whimper.

"Quiet!" Van Pelt roared over his shoulder, not removing his gaze from the forest around them. When his back was fully turned towards Peter, he made his move. Hissing, he sprang, tackling Van Pelt just as hunter turned around. "What the...?!" He exclaimed as Peter knocked him down to the ground, pinning him there. The gun flew out of his hands and landed a short distance away. Peter heard gasps from both Cecelia and Evan and growled as loud as he could, hoping the teens would get the message and run. "Get off me, you mangy cur!" Van Pelt roared, throwing his weight against Peter. Peter placed both of his legs on Van Pelt's chest and twisted the hunter's arms so he couldn't use them and hissed defiantly at the hunter, who paused as he got a good look at his attacker. "A true player?" He gasped. "It can't be!" Peter snapped at him, his fangs flashing in the weak sunlight, and was rewarded to see Van Pelt's eyes widen in what appeared to be genuine fear. He listened for any noise from Cecelia and Evan but he couldn't hear or smell any sign of them and he wasn't going to take his eyes off Van Pelt to look for them.

Suddenly, Peter felt Van Pelt's boots on his chest and realized too late that he had underestimate how flexible the hunter was. With a might thrust of his feet, Van Pelt threw Peter clear. The boy spun in the air and landed in a crouch four feet away. Van Pelt meanwhile, had whirled around to reclaim his lost gun, only to discover the weapon was not where it had fallen. Cursing, he whirled to face Peter and drew a machete from his belt. "Well, I guess I'll have to finish you up close and personal" He taunted, swinging the blade so it gleamed in the sun. He angled it so the sun reflected directly into Peter's eyes and when Peter squinted and looked away, Van Pelt charged. But Peter sensed him coming and back-flipped to that the hunter's slash passed harmlessly beneath him. Before Van Pelt could try again, Judy erupted from the grass behind him, wrapped her legs around Van Pelt's chest, grabbed both of his ears in her hands and yanked hard. Screaming in pain, Van Pelt clawed at his back, but couldn't quite reach her, giving Peter enough time to shake the sunspots from his eyes. Drawing one of his daggers, he saw Judy's eyes widen as she glanced at the weapon, but Peter shook his head and lunged, hitting Van Pelt on the head with, not the blade, but the handle of the knife, knocking the hunter out. As Van Pelt crumpled to the dirt, the siblings leapt back and stared at each other, breathing heavily.

"Were you going to...?" Judy clicked, her eyes traveling once again to the stone knife in Peter's hand, but Peter flashed his teeth and shook his head.

"No! Of course not!" He whistled in reply."What would make you think that?"

"Well, when you said to act like were were a 'part of Jumanji', I didn't mean act _that_ much like it" Judy answered.

Peter opened his mouth to argue further, but Van Pelt let out a groan and he realized they were wasting time. "Where did they go?" He changed the subject quickly. Judy's frown remained, but she motioned with a hand to the bracken behind him. Peter nodded, then paused as Van Pelt shifted beneath them. "Where's his gun?" He asked.

Judy's frown was replaced with a smile and she pointed with her thumb over her shoulder. "Four feet out and about one foot down. He won't find it in a hurry"

Peter smirked. "Cool beans"

Judy nodded. "Come on, and remember, act wild." With that, Judy sprinted away in the direction Peter had pointed.

"Yeah yeah" Peter snorted before following her.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Alan felt his feet touch the ground, gazed up at the forest around him, and gritted his teeth. When he had finally gotten out, he had promised himself that he was never, ever going to come back to Jumanji again, and now he was breaking that promise. "These kids had better be worth it" Alan growled, brushing off his suit jacket.

Glancing around to get his bearings, Alan suddenly heard whistling behind him and turned to find a Manji warrior staring at him, with his spear leveled towards Alan's chest.

"Easy buddy" Alan coaxed, gently moving the stone tip away from his heart. In Manji, he asked "_You see young boy and girl_?"

The Manji warrior doesn't speak, but shakes his mask-like head. He then jabs the spear towards Alan again.

"Whoa there!" Alan darts backwards away from the point, his eyes scanning the surrounding jungle for the other Manji. He knew that Manji warriors rarely traveled alone, but to his surprise, he doesn't see anyone else emerge. "_Where other warriors?"_ He asks

The warrior shakes his head again and finally replies. "_No Others. Only Me"_

"_What are you doing?"_ Alan asks

But before the Manji warrior could reply, the bushes rustle and Tribal Bob emerges from the undergrowth, to the surprise of the other warrior. Tribal Bob narrows his eyes at Alan and clicks "_Why you here?"_ in an annoyed tone.

"_I look for young boy and girl, like Peter and Judy but older."_ Alan signed and clicked. "_You see?"_

_"No see"_ Tribal Bob shakes his head, then pauses. "_None, but True Players"_ he adds

Alan's jaw drops. "The True players? _The_ True Players? They're _here?"_ He exclaims in English. Tribal Bob seems to smile at his reaction. "_Can you take me to them?"_ He asks in Manji.

Tribal Bob and the warrior exchange glances and both seem to shrug. Tribal Bob motions for Alan to follow and the three set off through the jungle. "_This is great!_ Alan thinks to himself. "_If the true player are here, they can help me find those missing kids easily!"_ Then Alan frowns as a thought enters his mind. "_Wait, how exactly did the true players arrive in Jumanji? I haven't even seen the game since it disappeared from our attic, and for that manner, how did the game disappear and reappear in the same room?"_ For a few moments Alan ponders, then shakes his head. "_Focus_ Alan!" He mentally scolded himself_ "Find the kids first, then solve the mystery_!" With that, he followed Tribal Bob deeper into the jungle.

* * *

**And Cut!**

**I know it's been a while since I updated this story, but I was suddenly struck with an immense desire to get back into it! **

**As always, let me know what you think! **

**Until next time!**


End file.
